


they took the midnight train (goin’ anywhere)

by that_one_urchin



Series: glee AU [1]
Category: Glee, Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Bullying, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Glee Club - Freeform, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Mutual Pining, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:29:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 200,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23793898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_one_urchin/pseuds/that_one_urchin
Summary: Josie Saltzman is almost the biggest loser in the entire school. Hope Mikaelson is the prettiest, and most popular girl in school. There is no reason the two should mix and yet they have a growing habit of confronting each other in the halls and bathroom stalls.Things are just made worse when they both end up in the same Glee Club.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman, Landon Kirby/Hope Mikaelson
Series: glee AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714192
Comments: 1723
Kudos: 3398
Collections: hosie legacies





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Fic title is taken from Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey.

The hallway was filled with mocking laughter. Teenagers passed with their phones held high while others rushed by in hidden sympathy and fear. Josie Saltzman stands in the middle of it all, covered from head to waist in icy, purple slush. Her eyes are screwed shut and the tip of her tongue tastes like artificial grape, but mostly she’s freezing cold and humiliated.

The saddest part about all of this is how familiar it is. Josie seeks out the girls bathroom with ease, even though all she can see is the black behind her eyelids. She grabs blindly for the sink with the best water pressure and dunks her head under the stream, washing away the crushed ice from her eyes.

“I have to say,” A voice speaks up from beside her, shockingly close and colder than the beverage soaking into her bra. “This is an upgrade from your usual look.”

Through her blurry vision, Josie spots several familiar details of the girl next to her. A red and white cheerleading uniform, complete with too short skirt and paper thin top. Fair skin, not a hint of acne in sight. Two sharp blue eyes, framed with winged eyeliner and a pink mouth that’s only meant to kill.

Hope Mikaelson is as Josie has always known her. Gorgeous. Immaculate. Fucking _ruthless_.

Josie silently weighs her options. She has been doing this dance with Hope since freshman year and she still can’t decide if it’s better to submit quietly or snap back at her. Both of them have bad outcomes. Actually, Josie has never gotten through a conversation with Hope that hasn’t had a bad outcome.

“Thanks.” Josie replies dryly.

They continue in uncomfortable silence for a moment. Josie keeps on trying to get the slushie out of her hair while Hope takes far too long to wash her hands. She gets the sense that Hope is trying to soak in her humiliation, like a shark that’s out for tears instead of blood.

Or maybe blood. Never underestimate the evil of a bitchy teenage girl.

“Can you just leave?” Josie asks finally, exasperated. Her eyes are stinging and she needs to take her shirt off to see if she can wring it out. “I’m not in the mood.”

Hope shuts the water off. “Bet you’ve never said that before.”

Josie can’t help it. Her resolve cracks and she looks at Hope fleetingly, turning away once she spots the flat line of Hope’s mouth. Hope seems angrier than usual today, considering she didn’t just call Josie a homo and take off. She isn’t even sure if they’ve ever stood near each other alone for this long. It’s definitely not in their routine.

It feels as if they’re suddenly locked in a chess match, each of them on other sides of the board.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Josie questions. Last week, Hope had called her a virgin - now it sounds as if she’s insinuating that Josie is a whore.

“It means that I know you have a crush on Landon and it needs to stop.” Hope bites, her voice viscous but her movements cool as she gets a paper towel out of the machine. “I’ve seen you fumbling around him, following behind him like a cat in heat.”

“I have no interest in your boyfriend.” Josie assures her.

It’s a lie.

Every girl in the school would love to go out with Landon Kirby. He’s going to be the quarterback pretty soon, but it’s not just that. Landon is actually kind to people. He doesn’t need fear to be popular, he’s just a good guy - sweet and insanely cute. Josie admittedly hadn’t been able to keep her eyes off of him during P.E. yesterday, but she hadn’t thought that Hope paid close enough attention to notice that.

“Listen here, guppy lips.” Hope takes several steps forward until she stands in Josie’s personal space. “You need to back off. Now.”

Josie freezes in place. She wishes that Hope wasn’t so scary sometimes. Someone that short has no right to be that intimidating, but here Hope is, knocking Josie off center.

This isn’t a chess match because Hope would never have to play at Josie’s level. If Hope is in the penthouse sweet of the mansion, Josie is caught in the sub basement. Hope will always look down on her and Josie will be kneeling at her feet for the rest of high school, no matter what she sometimes thinks.

“Fine.” Josie replies, feeling a little sick.

Hope stays there for a beat too long. Her eyes are boring into Josie’s - pretty blue on plain brown. Hope’s gaze is fire, licking all along Josie’s face and leaving burn marks. Josie resists the urge to step back and cower in the corner.

Then it happens. Hope’s eyes dash down, faster than lightning, and glance at Josie’s lips for just a second. Josie thinks she’s only imagining it, but she finally gives in and steps away on instinct, her mind spinning into a panic. She’s never kissed anyone and the thought of her worst bully taking that special first thing from her scares the hell out of her.

Hope huffs and leaves in the blink of an eye, her skirt twirling in the air as she goes.

Josie releases a long sigh of relief. She allows the tears to fall then, slow and inevitable, and begins to take off her ruined button-down shirt.

—————

“I can’t believe those neanderthals.” MG grumbles, eyeing the sticky purple substance still caught in Josie’s hair. He slurps his milk angrily. “I could kick Sebastian’s ass.”

Lizzie scoffs at that and MG perks up, immediately starting to talk about how he’s going to get a spot on the football team this year. Dairy makes him fussy.

Josie watches them with quiet amusement. They’re at lunch, sitting at their usual table near the trash cans. Normally they go to the library to eat and avoid the other kids, but Lizzie insisted they come here for their meals today. Josie has the sneaking suspicion that it’s because Lizzie has a crush on Sebastian (one of the hottest guys in the school), but she keeps her mouth shut.

She doesn’t want to hurt MG’s feelings, since he’s been harboring a crush on Lizzie for years now. Besides, Josie definitely isn’t in a position to complain about her sister having a crush on a popular jock.

Josie looks a little pathetically over at Landon. He’s eating one of the school’s chicken burritos and laughing at something Sebastian is saying. She can’t help but yearn to be at that table with him, tucked under his arm the way Hope is right now. If Hope would just disappear then Josie can imagine them falling in love, becoming a power couple, going to prom together, and eventually having three very attractive children.

Maybe she’s gotten a tad crazy.

“Earth to Josette Saltzman.” Lizzie says, snapping her fingers in front of Josie’s face. Josie quickly starts paying attention again. The use of her full name lets her know that she’s been zoning out for longer than she thought.

“Sorry.” Josie stabs a bit of pasta, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “What were you saying?”

“We were just talking about what we’re doing for Club Day. Have you seen those Glee Club sign-up sheets everywhere? Dad has been putting them up.” Lizzie explains, as if this is new information.

Their dad had actually spoken nonstop about how he was starting a Glee Club at Mystic Falls High for about a week now, but every time he brought it up Lizzie found interest in her phone. Josie couldn’t blame her. Listening to their dad talk about Journey songs over eggs every morning wasn’t exactly riveting conversation.

“Oh.” Josie nods. She can hear Landon’s laugh from across the cafeteria - endearing and horribly distracting. “That’s cool.”

“No it’s not. It’s mortifying.”

She resists the urge to roll her eyes. “Why?”

“Because, he wants us to join. We have to audition and everything.” Lizzie says, all in one panicked breath. She’s being so dramatic that it almost sounds as if he wanted them to walk down the halls naked. “We’re already losers. Being in Glee Club would just drag us down more.”

_Sub basement_ , Josie thinks, remembering her earlier encounter with Hope. What’s lower than a sub basement? Hell, that’s what.

She plays with her food, imagining Hope in the metaphorical penthouse. In her head, Josie sees Hope sitting on a throne. Slim legs crossed, adorning a golden crown, looking like the most stunning girl in the entire universe. That is how she will always look in Josie’s mind, probably. She can’t imagine Hope Mikaelson appearing as anything less than perfection.

“Maybe he won’t accept us.” Josie shrugs, trying to ease Lizzie’s mind.

Lizzie frowns. “When has he ever told us no?”

Josie tries to recall a time when their dad had ever been particularly stern with them. All she can remember is him telling them to stop climbing on that tall oak tree in their backyard, but that had been years ago. Josie thinks they might have been around six or seven, and they had gone back to climbing on it within the same week.

“A couple times.” Josie says, even as Lizzie looks at her in disbelief. She sighs and tries to reassure her. “It’s fine. Maybe this whole Glee Club thing won’t be that bad.”

“It’s a death sentence. Even though my voice is heavenly, that doesn't mean I want to sing show tunes in front of the whole school.” Lizzie tosses her hair over her shoulder and glares at nothing in particular.

Glaring for the sake of glaring.

Sometimes Josie wonders how Lizzie isn’t a Cheerio yet. She definitely has the piercing stare down.

Though, no one has the piercing stare down like Hope. Her eyes are so pretty and her gaze is so strong, it’s hard not to fall right into them. It’s as if Josie is caught in a trance every time she makes eye contact with her. She definitely understands why all the boys in school are dying to take Hope to prom (and more, but Josie doesn’t want to dwell on teenage boy’s dirty thoughts).

“I’ll join.” MG offers, obviously trying to be kind. He always is. “We can do it together and then it won’t be so bad.”

“Yeah.” Josie chimes in with a nod.

Lizzie looks between both of them like they’re crazy. She leans in close, as if she has an important secret to tell.

“I don’t know if you two know this.” Lizzie starts, quietly and carefully. “But getting murdered still sucks, even if you do it in some sort of geek trio.”

Josie rolls her eyes - she wishes Lizzie could be optimistic about something besides shopping for once - but MG genuinely laughs. Her heart warms at the sound. Despite Lizzie’s protests, she thinks that if they’re all there together then maybe living as bottom feeders for the next two years won't really be so bad.

The bell rings and they all begin to clear their plates. Josie tries to move fast since they’re near the trash cans. he doesn’t want to be caught in the rush of students trying to throw away their half-eaten food. In freshman year, someone spilled an entire plate of lasagna on her shirt. She can’t risk that now, especially since she’s already wearing her backup sweater.

“Move it, Eeyore.” Penelope Park hisses as they pass, laughing with Hope at her side. The two girls toss away their salads and sneer at her when they leave.

Josie decides not to dignify that with a response.

She walks out with her head held high, even though everyone just saw her get insulted with a Winnie the Pooh reference. Josie swears that every single asshole in this place is incredibly immature. What else could you expect from high schoolers?

Right outside the cafeteria doors, one of the Glee Club sign-up sheets is posted against the wall. Someone already drew a large, ejaculating penis across the front of it with a set of hairy balls.

Josie hesitates for a second before getting a pen from her backpack and scribbling down her name on a clear spot. It’s just Glee Club. What could possibly go wrong?


	2. Chapter 2

As expected, the auditorium is practically empty during auditions. Josie wasn’t naive, she knew no one would rush to join Glee Club, but she had thought that there would be at least a couple more people in here. Besides Josie and Lizzie, there are three others - MG, a black boy in a wheelchair, and a brunette guy who looks as if he’s lost.

And of course, there is Alaric Saltzman, her loving father, sitting in the middle of the seats with a mostly empty sign-up sheet.

Josie can just hear the crickets chirping.

“This sucks.” Lizzie says, though they’ve barely been there for a minute. Josie opens her mouth to protest, but can’t find anything to combat that.

Despite the fact that no one is here, her stomach is a tornado of nerves. Josie doesn’t sing. Well, she does, but usually during mundane moments. In the shower, in the middle of cooking lunch, in the quiet safety of her room. Never on an actual stage, in front of actual people.

She bats her sister away. “Shut up. You have hot dog breath.”

“Very mature.”

“I’m older than you.” Josie hisses, feeling five years old. It’s just a distraction from her growing anxiety. “And you still sleep with stuffed animals, so don’t-“

“Ethan Hudson?” Alaric calls, his voice booming surprisingly loud with the microphone. Josie hears him clear his throat and imagines the slightly awkward, pinched face he’s probably making right now.

The brunette boy steps out onto the stage. He looks everything but nervous. In fact, Josie thinks that he looks as if he belongs on a couch at a party somewhere, surrounded by all the other stoners. Of course, Josie doesn’t say any of this. No one says anything, actually. They all just stand, silent and ready to hear whatever Ethan is going to sing.

It turns out that Ethan isn’t a bad singer. His voice is a little rough, but otherwise it’s surprisingly good. The only strange thing about it is hearing a teenage boy sing an almost aggressive version of ‘I Kissed A Girl’ by Katy Perry.

Again, Josie is in no place to judge. She’s trying to be respectful. Lizzie, on the other hand…

“I told you.” Lizzie says, her head dipped in the way it always is when she’s about to whisper something rude. “We’re surrounded by freaks.”

Josie pushes her away genuinely now. “Hot. Dog. Breath.”

That shuts Lizzie up for the rest of the auditions. As soon as Ethan is done, the next guy (Rafael Waithe) wheels himself out on the stage to sing an equally inappropriate song. The two boys high-five on the other side of the stage once Rafael is done, laughing as if this is all one big inside joke. Josie can’t complain. Again, the song choice was odd but his voice wasn’t bad at all.

MG goes next. Josie sort of zones out for most of his performance. She already knows that he is a great singer - she’s heard him clog her bathroom with his voice for years. Josie is more focused on the fact that everyone in front of her is gone now, meaning that once MG wraps it up she’ll have to go out there and sing.

Publicly.

Okay, only relatively publicly, but still.

“Josie.” Alaric says, after MG has stepped off the stage with a tiny bow. Josie wants to throw up at the sound of her own name.

“Don’t choke.” Lizzie whispers, shoving her forward. Josie stumbles away from the shelter of the curtain and resists the urge to flip her sister off as she walks over to the microphone.

Josie opens and closes her mouth several times, probably looking like an oversized fish. She’s wondering if she should introduce herself - but that would be incredibly stupid. This is her father.

“Hi.” Her voice comes out a thousand times louder and larger than she feels. She blushes and takes a small step back from the microphone. Yep, she’s definitely Alaric’s daughter.

To avoid further embarrassment, Josie clears her throat and decides to just get started on the song. She’s chosen something from Wicked because it’s her favorite musical, so she already knows the lyrics.

Honestly, every last second of her audition is terrifying. There are several times where she feels as if she’s stopped singing altogether, because her thoughts have become so loud in her mind that everything else fades away. Her mouth is open a lot though, which- yeah, that’s probably a good thing.

Is she sweating?

“That was amazing.” Alaric says, almost as soon as she’s done with the last verse.

Josie’s first instinct is to brush that compliment off. Her dad tells her that she’s amazing just for washing her hands or farting. Then, Josie looks around and notices Lizzie to the right of her, looking a bit astonished and jealous. She looks to her left and sees the big, cheesy grin on MG’s face.

Her cheeks flush pink instantly.

“Damn.” Ethan tells her, patting her on the arm a bit too hard in passing. “You’ve got some pipes on you.”

They’ve never even spoken to each other before. It’s surprisingly nice to get that kind of support from a total stranger.

“Thanks.” Josie replies, feeling lame about her response but absolutely amazing about everything else.

MG hooks his arms around her waist and spins her around easily. Josie gasps, a laugh bubbling out of her throat in shock as he twirls her in the air. He really has been working out for football.

“I’m going to get some water.” She says, patting his chest so MG will let her down. “Tell me how Lizzie does, okay?”

“Okay.”

Josie sneaks out of the auditorium quietly, trying not to mess with Lizzie’s performance, and steps out into the hallway. It’s deathly quiet since everyone already cleared out after last period, and the halls are a lot colder than she expected with the lack of body heat. She can actually catch her breath instead of shuffling down the hall with her head down, trying to avoid touching anyone and everything.

She finds the closest water fountain near the girls’ locker room and dips down to take a drink.

Her head is spinning. It had felt so good to be treated as if she was special. No one her age had genuinely complimented her in ages. Now there’s five people in that room, supporting her over something she thought she was mediocre at.

Josie feels happy.

That must be some sort of violation in the high school code, because the door to the locker room suddenly pops open beside her. She flinches helplessly at the noise. A second later, her blood runs cold as she hears high-pitched, girly laughter run rampant down the halls.

Of course, it’s a Friday. The Cheerios have practice on Fridays - and Josie should have remembered that, because last time she got caught at school after hours they bombarded her with ten different slushie flavors.

“What are you doing here, Lumps?” Penelope bites, her laughter dying as soon as she sets sights on Josie.

Josie crosses her arms in front of her stomach, suddenly feeling mad at herself about eating that burrito at lunch. It hadn’t been that big - but now it suddenly feels as if it weighs three thousand tons in her belly.

She glances at all the girls very quickly, trying not to make eye contact with any of them. It’s a sea of dangerous red and white. A few of them seem actually irritated with her presence, but most of them just look amused. Either way, all of them have turned their gazes in one direction, looking at the head cheerleader herself for guidance.

Hope always seems to stand a few inches in front of everyone - a clear leader. Josie can’t keep her eyes off her. Hope has this funny power where she can command attention anytime and anywhere, and Josie feels that power sweep all throughout her body whenever they interact.

They make eye contact.

Hope’s eyebrow arches (another picture perfect, signature move of hers) and she takes a threatening step towards Josie. Her eyes are sharper than knives and Josie already knows that she’s practically spread out on a plate, ready for Hope to cut into her.

“I have a guess.” Hope’s voice is noncommittal. Borderline friendly. Terrifying.

Somewhere far, far away, someone is probably getting shot straight through the stomach right now. Josie suddenly envies that person.

“What else would the school’s biggest homo be doing outside of the girls’ locker room?” Hope gets even closer and Josie stumbles back, but Hope’s lips tilt up at the edges and Josie recognizes her mistake immediately. “ _Spying_ , obviously.”

The girls standing behind Hope laugh as if on autopilot.

This would all probably be less frightening if Hope didn’t look how she looks. She’s stunning, even when she says such nasty things. Josie hesitantly allows her eyes to go everywhere but up to Hope’s - along the girl’s legs, her tiny waist, her toned arms. The Cheerios outfits are sleeveless, so Josie can see every inch of muscle going from Hope’s wrist to her shoulder.

They look so strong that they appear almost deadly. Josie can just imagine what it will be like in senior year when Hope finally decides to kill her. Hope would probably shove her roughly against a wall with ease and then-

“Speak, freak.” Hope’s voice is crystal clear and authoritative. It’s an order.

“I was just, uh,” She fumbles over her words, turning red under the attention of the entire cheerleading squad. “I-I was here for Glee Club auditions.”

A beat of silence passes before they all begin to laugh in painful unison. Josie fixes her eyes on her shoes. It’s as if her happy mood has been sucked right out of her with a vacuum.

“Glee Club? Like… the one with the penises on it?” Maya asks, making all of the girls laugh even louder. Maya frowns (it had almost sounded like a genuine question) but perks up when Penelope reaches over to pat her shoulder gently.

Those two are so weird sometimes. It would be kind of cute to see them together if they weren’t both viscous bullies - not that Josie would comment on it either way.

Josie sucks up her sigh of regret (she should just stick to drinking water in the safety of her own home now) and turns slightly to leave, but then realizes that the auditorium is the other way. The only way back is through the seemingly enormous wall of cheerleaders. Just the thought of it sounds like a death sentence, but Josie summons every bit of courage she has and starts walking forward.

Hope catches her with one firm hand on Josie’s shoulder. “I’m not done with you.”

Josie flinches away on instinct. Hope has never gone as far as to hit her before, but maybe this would be the day. Maybe.

She waits for the worst. Everyone seems to. Penelope’s eyes bounce between Hope and Josie as if this is a cage match and not a high school hallway. Josie has the intense urge to say _fuck it_ and run. She can probably bulldoze down a couple of the ninety pound girls.

“Girls, move.” Hope says, letting her hand drop back to her side. It’s so unexpected that for once the girls hesitate at one of Hope’s orders, but they eventually begin to slowly part enough to make a narrow pathway.

Josie looks between the little space they’ve made and Hope’s face. There’s nothing there. She would describe it as dull, but nothing about Hope’s appearance is ever dull - there’s just a clear lack of anger or disgust or any emotion at all. Josie rushes to get past them all, though there’s something new and heavy about her footsteps.

Should she… say thank you to Hope?

Josie looks back uncertainly, somehow not surprised when all she’s faced with is an auburn ponytail. The words of gratitude are on her lips anyways, about to slip out despite her better judgement.

“Someone get me some bleach. I can’t believe she touched me.” Hope says loudly, not even looking at Josie. More synchronized laughter comes and then the squad takes off down the hall in one big unit, like a cult.

_But you touched me,_ Josie thinks to herself, not daring to speak the words aloud.

She stares at the little scuff of dirt they left on the floor for far longer than she should. Their footsteps are still echoing down the halls, loud as bullets. Josie shakes herself out of her thoughts and starts walking back to the auditorium. There’s no point in trying to understand the mind of a bully, it’s too screwed up in there to comprehend.

“You took forever.” MG comments once she’s back.

She shrugs. “I had to use the bathroom. Was Lizzie good?”

Josie scans the room. Rafael and Ethan have cleared out already, and Lizzie is off having a conversation with their dad in the first row.

“Magnificent.” MG replies, breathless.

“Good.” Josie nods, looking over the still lit stage and that microphone that gave her so much power just moments ago. “We’re all going to need to be that way if we want to show people that Glee Club isn’t just a joke.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos/comments :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad u guys are enjoying this, let me know what u think about the chapter :D

Come lunch on Monday, Josie practically has to drag Lizzie to their first Glee practice. Lizzie still insists that they could get away somehow, but Josie doesn’t feel good about ditching their dad. She basically wrestles Lizzie into the choir room, shoving her forward through the doorway. 

The room is empty except for Alaric, which is to be expected. It’s only the first five minutes of lunch. They’re only here so early because they brought food from home instead of getting it from the cafeteria. MG is still not here, probably stuck in the lunch line for pizza. 

“What are you? The Hulk?” Lizzie questions, grumbling quietly to herself as she grabs a chair and reluctantly sits down. 

Josie has the good sense to sit down with a smile and spare her dad’s feelings. He already looks nervous about people showing up. Josie sees him fix his tie several times and then stare blankly ahead, clearly caught up in his thoughts. 

“Dad, don’t worry.” Josie assures, unwrapping her sandwich. “They’re going to show up.” 

“Yeah, all three of them.” Lizzie says bitterly, wincing at the glare that Josie sends her. 

They eat in uncomfortable silence for a couple minutes. Their dad keeps pacing and Josie eventually runs out of things to say to try and calm him. The truth is she isn’t sure if anyone will actually show up. Of course MG will, but the other two boys were practical strangers and there’s no way to tell if they just auditioned as a joke or not. 

Once their dad is out of earshot and she is done with half of her sandwich, Josie turns to Lizzie to scold her. 

“You’re scaring dad.” She points out. 

“I’m not trying to.” Lizzie replies. It seems as if she’s thinking something over. “Do… do you think Sebastian might join?”

Josie bites the inside of her cheek, trying not to sound exasperated. “Sebastian only talks to us when he throws slushies in our faces.”

“Well, yeah but sometimes people are only mean ‘cause they have a crush and-“

Lizzie has the sense to stop talking when MG walks into the room. Her words fade out, but Josie lets herself think about them for a second. They’re seventeen, no one should still be at the ‘pulling pigtails’ stage of crushes, but the football players and Cheerios have proved to be shockingly immature. 

Whatever. She doesn’t even know why she thought of the Cheerios, too. They have nothing to do with this.

“Hey, MG.” Josie greets.

“I got the last slice.” MG grins, holding up a plate of greasy pizza. “Also, I saw Ethan and Rafael just outside. They’re coming.” 

He sits down next to Lizzie and less than a minute later both Ethan and Rafael hesitantly enter the room with their lunches. Alaric looks astounded, even though there are more empty seats than filled. He claps his hands together excitedly and Josie sits up straighter, feeling optimistic. 

“Okay, welcome everyone. I’m glad you’re here. Um.” Alaric pauses and looks to Josie, who gives him a comforting thumbs-up. He continues. “I decided on a name for the team.”

Alaric turns to the whiteboard behind him and grabs a marker. A quiet scribbling noise fills the room as he writes two words down: New Directions.

Lizzie groans openly. “No offense, but that’s horrible. Can’t it be like, I don’t know, Hot Bitches?” 

Josie reaches over and pinches Lizzie’s side, causing the girl to yelp dramatically. 

“What? I said no offense.” 

Alaric rightly chooses to ignore both of his daughters. He caps the marker and scratches the back of his head, looking almost as if he has no idea what to say until Ethan raises his hand.

“Yes, Ethan?” He points at the boy and gives him an encouraging nod.

“Uh, what are we going to do here?” Ethan asks uncertainly and Rafael snickers beside him. “Are we performing at the Winter Concert or do we have competitions or something?” 

That’s actually a good question. Now that Josie thinks about it, she has no idea what a Glee Club does. She knows about the singing and figured they’d probably participate in concerts, but what else? 

“Yeah, there are competitions - sectionals, regionals, and nationals - but we don’t need to worry about that just yet. I was thinking we could work on a simple song first, after you’re done with your lunches.” Alaric explains, gesturing to the stack of papers (most likely sheet music) on the piano. 

One by one they finish their food and go up to collect one of the sheets. Josie is the first to do so, followed quickly by MG. She only recognizes the song because her dad plays it in the car sometimes - it’s sort of old. She starts to learn the lyrics anyways. 

Once everyone is done, they begin working on the song. It goes about as well as one would expect. 

Lizzie keeps complaining, which isn’t helpful at all, while Ethan and Rafael try to participate (though they have some trouble with the choreography). Josie and MG aren’t doing the best either, but they work together to keep everyone cheered up and still going. 

As soon as the bell rings, they all start to pack up while Alaric congratulates them on getting through their first rehearsal. 

Josie notices Rafael lingering near her and looks over at him expectantly, waiting to see what he has to say. 

“This wasn’t so bad.” He tells her with a contemplative look in his eyes. “But… I think we need more members.” 

“Okay. Why are you telling me this?” Josie asks, not unkindly. She’s genuinely curious. 

Rafael shrugs. “You’re the leader.” 

He wheels away to go meet up with Ethan, who is standing by the doorway. Josie watches him go, feeling a wave of slight confusion and pride run through her. She’s never been the leader of anything before. 

Since Lizzie already left for class, Josie walks over to her dad and gently taps him on the shoulder. She has a plan, she’s just embarrassed about anyone overhearing it.

“Hey, dad.” She says. “I was just talking to Rafael about how this was great, but I think we need to get more people involved somehow. Do you know Landon Kirby?” 

Alaric thinks for a moment. “Kirby? Yeah, I think so. He’s in my history class.” 

Josie bounces nervously on her toes, hoping her dad won’t notice her ulterior motives. She knows Landon is dating Hope, but she just wants to be closer to him. Besides, she could never understand how someone so nice like Landon could date someone as mean as Hope. 

It’s probably because Hope constantly looks as if she should be riding down from the sky on angel wings. Everything about Hope’s appearance is heavenly. 

“He’s failing your history class and he’s a good singer. I heard him once.” Josie explains quickly, aware of how creepy she sounds. That one time she heard Landon sing was also in church on Christmas nearly three years ago, but she leaves that part out. “You should offer him extra credit.”

“I can’t just blackmail him into joining.” Alaric shakes his head, barely-laughing in that way that lets her know he’s considering it. 

Josie shrugs, her backpack jostling with her. She turns to leave, but makes sure to look over her shoulder before she steps out. 

“Okay. I just thought that Landon could get all the football guys to join. Maybe the Cheerios, too.” 

It’s devious, but Josie feels a sense of satisfaction as she watches her father’s facial expression change. Her brain is spinning with schoolgirl fantasies of Landon singing multiple love songs to her in front of the whole school. She feels a little silly, but since she’s seventeen and has never had a boyfriend (or girlfriend, or anyone for that matter), she figures that she’s allowed to be this way.

Josie turns a corner and takes two steps before she suddenly feels frozen solid. The slushie hits her square in the face and she flinches, her mouth pooling with anger and the too-sweet liquid. She spins around, though she’s temporarily blind, and yells in the direction of the loudest burst of laughter. 

“What the hell?” She wipes at her eyes in frustration, pushing icy chunks to the floor. 

Sebastian becomes visible to her, his amused expression greeting her eyes. He towers over her with his height and broad, muscled shoulders, but Josie doesn’t back down. She only takes a step back when she gets enough slushie out of her eyes to see that Landon is also standing next to Sebastian, though he isn’t laughing along. 

“Dude, not cool. Impulse control.” Landon shoves Sebastian so he’ll stop laughing. “She’s probably going to be late to class now.” 

Josie stands there, frightened and embarrassed as Landon looks her over. Of course, the first time she makes eye contact with her crush she’s covered in a sugary beverage. If the purple liquid wasn’t dripping down her face, they would all be able to see her dark blush. 

When Landon steps towards her, Josie can’t help but step back nervously. He frowns and puts his hands up, as to appear non-threatening, and then slowly starts to unzip his jacket. Once it’s off his body, he holds it out to her.

Josie can’t fucking believe it.

“Come on.” Landon shakes it. “I can’t be late to class.”

Hesitantly, Josie reaches out and takes the jacket. As she pulls it on, she keeps glancing at him to make sure this isn’t some type of cruel joke. Once she zips it up without hearing a punchline, Josie looks down at it. It’s just a simple grey color, but it’s oversized on her and smells like him - Axe body spray and sweat. 

Landon doesn’t say goodbye when he leaves, just slaps Sebastian on the arm and hurries off to get to his next class. 

“Hope is going to murder that poor girl.” Sebastian says as they leave and Josie hears it, but she just can’t find it in herself to care.

The rest of the day goes on without a hitch. She spends almost all of her classes in teenage girl dreamland, blissfully thinking about Landon and his jacket. As soon as she gets the chance to, Josie goes to the bathroom to change out of her slushie-stained shirt, so all she’s wearing is a pair of shorts, her underwear, and the jacket. 

It’s the best day she’s had in awhile. Everyone actually showed up for Glee Club, Hope hasn’t said a word to her all day, and she wears Landon’s jacket for all of the second half of the day. By the end of it, Josie is smiling goofily into her locker while she sets her books down. 

Josie can’t keep the grin off of her face. Everything about this situation is perfect. Later tomorrow, when she returns his washed jacket, she’ll get to talk to Landon again.

She’s in the middle of thinking about what her and Landon’s babies would look like when her locker door slams abruptly. It happens so fast that Josie barely has time to pull her hands away and her fingers almost get smashed. She steps back, clutching her palms to her chest protectively in pure shock.

Hope doesn’t even give Josie a second to breathe. She steps closer immediately, looking absolutely livid. Her face is an angry shade of pink and her eyes are such a dark blue that Josie feels as if she’s just fallen to the bottom of the ocean - like there’s no air in her lungs at all and the pressure is pushing hard against her skull. 

Josie makes a surprised, sort of whimpering noise, and Hope’s eyes dance across her face hungrily as if she’s a shark that has smelled blood.

“Take. It. Off.” Hope says slowly, her voice so low and filled with hatred that even Josie isn’t used to the harshness of it. 

Hope is close enough that Josie can feel the warmth of her breath and smell the mint on it. Her first thought is that she’ll remember that smell more than she’ll remember the scent of Landon’s jacket. It’s so surprisingly nice that if they weren’t in this situation, Josie would ask Hope what toothpaste she uses. Josie’s second thought is that she’s terrified and also very, strangely turned on.

She’s hormonal and all her mind can really process is this incredibly attractive girl right in front of her, telling her to take it off.

Her mind blanks. “What?” 

“The jacket.” Hope speaks through clenched teeth and Josie nearly throbs - she can’t believe she’s horny in the face of evil. “Take it off right now.” 

Josie finally registers what she’s being asked. She’s wearing Landon’s - Hope’s boyfriend’s - jacket and has been for hours. Of course Hope wants her to take it off. Josie is about to unzip it and hand it away, just to avoid the chance of being viciously slaughtered, but then she remembers that she has nothing on under except for her bra. 

“No.” Josie replies, glancing down at Hope’s face anxiously. 

“No?” Hope questions, her voice raising. Josie would rather be held at gunpoint right now.

She looks around the slightly crowded hallway, unable to decide if she wants more people here or less. If more people come, then there’s less of a chance of Hope murdering her, but if people leave then she’ll be less embarrassed when Hope finally rips off the jacket and Josie is left standing shirtless in the hall. 

“I can’t.” She tries to explain, but every word she says just makes Hope look more murderous.

Josie glances across the hall, spotting a bathroom. She decides that she can take off the jacket in the bathroom with minimal embarrassment and races over there without looking at Hope again. Of course, a second after she’s gone in there, she hears the door open again behind her. 

It slams as it closes and the bathroom rings with the loud sound. Josie winces, knowing that she’s probably going to get screamed at or have to expose herself. 

A young girl, who was drying her hands, glances between them nervously with wide eyes. Josie tries to signal with her eyes that the girl should leave before Hope starts sacrificing baby goats or something. 

“Out, now.” Hope says and the girl rushes to leave the bathroom. 

Josie leans against the line of sinks, looking at Hope warily. Strangely, she feels a bit calmer now that they’re alone. Hope is usually very slightly nicer if they aren’t surrounded by people.

“You can’t just bully freshmen.” Josie points out. She watches Hope check that all the stalls are empty before locking the door. “And you can’t lock the bathroom door either, it’s against school rules.” 

“Does it look like I care? Give me the jacket, Saltzman.” Hope holds out her hand. 

Hope seems more frustrated than deathly angry now. There’s a slight pinch between her brows that makes it seem as if she’s got her mind on something other than Josie right now. Plus, there’s the fact that she’s holding out her hand instead of ripping off the jacket. Josie fights the urge to release a sigh of relief, thinking that the noise might set Hope off again. 

“I kind of need-“ Josie starts to explain, but she’s taken by surprise, yet again, when Hope just rolls her eyes, steps close enough to get her hand on the zipper, and yanks it down.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry, Hope will be nicer later, but for now...

The noise Josie makes as soon as the jacket is unzipped is probably the most embarrassing thing to ever leave her mouth.

She thought that she had built up enough resistance to not squeak like that years ago, but Josie hadn’t prepared to have Hope Mikaelson undressing her. The worst part about it is that she’s so caught up in shock that Josie doesn’t even move for a solid minute. She just stands there, trying not to tremble in fear, while she gets gawked at by Hope.

Hope doesn’t move either, but her eyes do. They go all over Josie’s body multiple times, narrowed slightly with this expression Josie can’t really read - but she assumes it’s disgust.

The seconds stretch on and Josie still doesn’t have the good sense to step away. She keeps on waiting for Hope to insult her. Josie has never had her shirt off in front of anyone outside of her family (she even wears a one piece at the beach), and that’s because she’s sure there’s a lot on her body to insult. Specifically her stomach or chest, but there’s probably something disgusting about her bellybutton, too.

Hope says nothing. It’s unnerving. Her eyes are darker than a bottomless pit and her teeth are assaulting her lip, all signs that Hope has something to say - but she’s completely silent.

It also doesn’t help that Hope is touching her. Just barely. Hope’s hand is still on the zipper, so her knuckles are brushing Josie’s skin with every breath she takes. It probably isn’t intentional, but it feels as though Hope is scraping hot iron down Josie’s stomach.

Josie exhales shakily, feeling that brush of knuckle one last time before finally stepping away. She might as well have stepped closer. The heat is lingering, going up her stomach, warming her face, and curling around her neck like Hope is gripping it and trying to cut off her air supply.

“Hope?” Josie asks. This is new. Uncomfortable.

“Seriously? A Mickey Mouse bra?” Hope’s eyes snap up, her expression going right back to that neutral coldness that Josie is accustomed to. “Could you be any less sexy? Who are you trying to attract, five year olds?”

Josie just sputters, feeling as if someone has suddenly turned her hot water to cold in the shower.

Unfortunately, Hope isn’t done. “And who the hell told you that you could wear my boyfriend’s jacket?”

“Landon did.” Josie replies softly, fixing her eyes on the ground.

This is all so much more nerve wracking with her torso on display. She wants to zip the jacket back up, but doing so might actually make Hope turn into some sort of demon wolf and rip her head off. On the other hand, taking it off would just make Josie a thousand times more self conscious. She isn’t very fond of her arms either.

“Landon apparently has brain damage.” Hope says, scoffing, but the words seem as if they’re more for herself than for Josie.

It’s a little jarring, hearing Hope talk about him that way. The last time Josie checked, they were the perfect and very happy couple. The way Hope says his name now seems to be with mild hatred and a bit of disgust, like it’s painful to even speak of him.

Josie studies Hope silently, watching her press her palms to the sink and stare at herself in the mirror. Her face is red (it has been since she unzipped the jacket), her shoulders are tense, and she seems to be collecting herself. If it were someone else, Josie would probably ask if they were okay, but it isn’t some else. It’s Hope, and Josie knows that staying this close to her for so long is practically a death sentence.

Seeing only one way out, Josie starts to take off the jacket. She figures she can text MG and get him to come give her his shirt or something.

“What are you doing?” Hope asks, seeing Josie push the fabric off of her shoulders and recoiling like Josie has tried to hit her.

“You…” Josie trails off, fighting the urge to cower and blush at how Hope is looking at her. “You told me to take it off, so.”

She looks at Hope for some kind of instruction, but Hope’s face is blank except for the slight color in her cheeks, so Josie decides to continue.

Eventually, Hope speaks up. “Stop. My eyes are burning. Just give it back tomorrow.”

Josie pulls it back on and zips the jacket up gratefully, glad that she doesn’t have to walk around topless. She would thank Hope - but well, it’s Hope.

“To Landon?” Josie asks. Hope must see the hopeful glint in her eyes, because she scowls immediately.

“No, to me. Don’t go near him again.”

Josie nods. Of course. She doesn’t even know why she asked, honestly. Maybe if she stayed quiet she could have returned the jacket to Landon, but now she has to actively seek out Hope tomorrow. Which is probably the weirdest thing she’ll ever do, but one thing at a time.

Right now, she needs to get out of the bathroom.

She takes one last glance at Hope and then leaves quickly, just feeling glad that she got out relatively unharmed.

Even though Josie gets all the way down the hall and out of the school without Hope coming after her, she still feels as if Hope is right there with her. There’s nothing but air around her, and yet Josie feels the heat lingering on her skin as she scans the parking lot for her dad’s car.

She can’t believe Hope touched her.

She can’t believe that she kind of, sort of liked it.

It’s only because no one pays Josie any attention, much less tries to rip off her clothes in a bathroom. Even if it had been in a threatening manner from someone who has been tormenting Josie for years now. Hope is still a girl. A girl who would probably tape Josie to a pole and burn her alive if she knew about Josie’s pansexuality, but a girl nonetheless - and Josie has definitely noticed how pretty Hope is.

That’s just a fact. The sky is blue, most birds fly, and Hope Mikaelson is stunning. Sometimes Josie is more sure of that than she is her own heartbeat. So yeah, maybe she’s a little turned on. Josie is apparently attracted to women who give her a hard time and it’s just her hormones-

“What the hell?” Her dad’s car pulls up in front of her and Lizzie is already in the passenger seat, looking annoyed. “We’ve been waiting for you for like ever. Come on.”

Josie rolls her eyes. She knows that she can’t have been more than ten minutes late, but she chooses not to argue with Lizzie and gets in the backseat silently.

An old rock song is playing quietly on the radio, filling up the car with a guitar solo Josie has heard a thousand times. She suddenly wonders why her dad took this long to start up the club. They’re constantly surrounded by music in the car and at home. Plus, he’s been working here for years and it’s already their junior year.

She opens her mouth to ask, but Lizzie twists around in her chair and looks Josie over with an amused smile.

“I still can't believe you got Landon’s jacket.” Lizzie points out.

For a second, Josie had forgotten she was even wearing it, but now that she remembers she sinks her hands into the pockets and inhales. She tries to catch that boyish scent of body odor and deodorant chemicals, but all that reaches her nose is something sweet and minty.

“I know right. It’s super comfortable.” Josie replies, shaking off the thought that Hope’s scent will never leave her nostrils. “He’s so sweet.”

“You two would make such a cute couple. Maybe if Landon goes for you then Sebastian will date me. We can all go to prom together.” Lizzie muses with a clear, hopeful grin.

Josie smiles back at her.

—————

The next day, Josie rushes her family out the door and makes sure to get them all to school twenty minutes earlier than usual. She’s hoping that when Hope gets to school, Josie can already be waiting at her locker. That way she won’t have to deal with all of the Cheerios at once or have to face Sebastian or any one of the popular kids again. It wouldn’t even be worth it to run into Landon, especially considering the clear warning she got from Hope.

Thankfully, Lizzie doesn’t ask questions and leaves to go to the library and nap a second after they get into school. For once, Josie is glad to be abandoned. That’s until she realizes that she has no idea where Hope’s locker is, which leaves Josie to wander around aimlessly with the jacket in her backpack.

She checks almost every hall, but as Josie goes further and further into the school she can’t help but fill with dread. Josie has a guess at where Hope is. Sometimes the Cheerios have morning practice and there’s a good chance that Hope is out there leading the squad, which means that Josie is going to have to endure another verbal bashing if she wants to return the jacket.

Waiting until after school starts would just make things worse because it would up the chances of Josie getting insulted in front of a crowd. The only other option is keeping the jacket, but then she might as well start walking around with a sign that says ‘throw slushies in my face’.

So, Josie only has one option.

Stepping out onto the field sort of feels like walking into hell, though that might be because she has bad P.E. memories from freshman year.

Josie is pleasantly surprised when she goes outside and finds that the field does not have a pack of bitchy cheerleaders on it. She breathes a sigh of relief and decides that Hope probably just isn’t here yet.

“Stalking me again, Saltzman?” A familiar voice comes from behind her and Josie jumps a foot in the air.

She looks around wildly and finds Hope on the bleachers, sitting just so it would be hard to spot her. Hope is in her cheerleading uniform, as always, and her skin is a light pink like she’s been working out but there is no one else in sight. Josie watches Hope drink out of her water bottle and flushes in embarrassment when she sees the tiny, amused smirk on Hope’s lips.

Josie climbs the stairs to meet Hope on the bleachers. She lingers near her but decides it’s probably best not to sit down, especially since she isn’t staying for long.

“I brought the jacket.” Josie says, digging into her backpack for it. “And I’m not stalking you.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

Josie pauses. She can’t help it. Maybe she does have some sort of strange death wish, but she slows her actions and really takes a look at Hope. She notices all of the little things, like how Hope hasn’t really insulted her or even really looked at Josie yet and how she’s speaking in this breathless tone, like she’s almost trying not to pant.

“Were you running?” Josie asks curiously. She’s seen Hope after a workout - always sharp and determined, looking as if she’s running off of several waves of energy.

Now, Hope just seems tired. It reminds Josie of how Lizzie sometimes looks when she returns from her post-breakdown runs, like she’s exhausted and still hasn’t worked out her problems. Of course, Josie isn’t sure what problems Hope could possibly have.

Hope is Hope, and Hope has everything.

“Yeah.” Hope replies, setting her water down. She seems to notice Josie’s lingering eyes and sits up straighter. “I’m surprised you even know what that is with how you look shirtless. Sloppy Joes aren’t a diet food, you know.”

Josie bites down hard on her lip. She hates this. She wishes that she were brave enough to yell at Hope and smart enough not to want to cry, but she isn’t either of those things.

“Could you maybe not bring that up?” Josie asks softly, finally getting the jacket out of her bag and holding it in her hands.

“What?” Hope tilts her head, all focused anger and cruel eyes. She’s like a sniper sitting on a roof with a gun. “The fact that you wear Disney underwear or that you look like-“

“All of it.” Josie cuts her off softly, not wanting to hear whatever insult is coming next.

Hope inspects her for a moment and Josie stares back, hoping that Hope won’t pick up on the hurt in her eyes. She feels as if she’s a soft piece of fruit, something small and harmless that Hope can casually dig her thumbs into and ruin without a second thought. Still, she isn’t really a fruit and she has the mental capacity to know that looking away now would be a clear sign of weakness.

“Fine.” Hope snatches the jacket back and pulls it over her shoulders carelessly. “But in return, you stay away from Landon. No talking to him. Or looking at him.”

“Okay.” Josie replies easily.

Hope arches an eyebrow. “Okay?”

Josie nods and stands there for a second more before she backs off and goes down the stairs again.

All she has to do is be more careful about her leering and things will be fine. It’s not like Hope actually pays attention to her every single second of the day and will see all interactions Josie has with Landon. Besides, Josie isn’t planning on trying to steal Landon away from Hope. That’s ridiculous.

Hope is gorgeous and magnificent and Josie is… well, she apparently looks as if she eats Sloppy Joes everyday.

The only thing that may fuck up her little agreement with Hope is if her dad goes through with that plan of trying to get Landon in Glee Club, but that will probably never happen. For now, Josie has the all clear to go on with her life. Business as usual.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There won’t be a lot of Hope’s POV, maybe just a couple chapters here and there to fill in some details. Enjoy! :D

Surprisingly, Hope’s favorite class is biology. Most people wouldn’t expect it from her, considering her father gave a seminar on how evolution wasn’t real just last week, but she really did enjoy studying about life. In secret, of course. If anyone asked she liked P.E. the most, because of the lack of homework.

Everything about her was kind of a secret at this point, and Hope liked it that way. People would stop looking up to her if she changed.

“What’s that, Hope?” Maya asks, literally looking up to Hope with how her head is angled on the desk.

Hope instinctively hides her notebook from Maya, turning so the other Cheerio can’t see the page she’s on. She looks down at her science notes, which have quickly morphed into a picture. It looks as if she’s been drawing for almost all of class without even realizing it.

Her notes end with the word _molecule_ and drift off into the smooth curve of someone’s cheek. The whole face is disturbingly detailed and familiar, from the swipe of the nose to the pin straight hair. Hope gently runs her finger over the soft eyes on the page and down to the distinctly pouty mouth she’s shaded in. She glances up to the front row, where Josie - _guppy lips_ \- is, and then back at Maya’s curious expression.

“I’m not done yet.” Hope says, setting her pencil down and uncapping a black marker with her teeth. “Give me a second.”

Hope drags the marker crudely over Josie’s face, giving her pimples and a thick mustache. She digs it in enough that she knows the ink will bleed over to the next page. With that knowledge, she rips out two extra pages so there will be no trace of the drawing when she does her homework later.

“Here.” Hope sets the papers down in front of Maya.

Maya laughs immediately. It’s so obviously clear who it is, with how much time Hope spent on it. A full hour and six minutes, if the clock is right.

Hope laughs along too, but she’s honestly a little worried for her sanity. She’s been so busy with cheerleading and Celibacy Club that she hasn’t been sleeping as well. That’s probably why that freak has been invading her thoughts.

It just feels as if Josie is everywhere, all the time. In the bathrooms, in the halls, standing around the locker rooms after practice. Sure, she goes to school here, but the place is big enough that they shouldn’t have to see each other outside of the two classes they share together.

“What is the Glee Club?” Maya asks, still looking down at the drawing. She usually has a lot of questions, especially during class. “What do they do? Do they talk about sex like us?”

Hope tears her eyes away from Josie suddenly, surprised with Maya’s words. “What? We don’t talk about sex.”

“Celibacy Club.”

“Oh. Yeah, right.” Hope nods, remembering the club. The one that she’s the leader of. She’s really off of her game. “Glee Club is for singing.”

“Oh.” Maya replies, with no other explanation, and then takes the paper to add large elf ears to the drawing.

Hope considers asking her about it, but the only person who can really understand Maya is Penelope, and she isn’t here. There’s no point in questioning it - besides, Hope doesn’t really want to talk about the Glee Club.

Just looking at the posters makes her sick. Does Josie not know that walking around singing show tunes is the equivalent of asking for double slushie facials? Can’t she just get up and disappear instead of drawing so much attention to herself?

“Alright, class dismissed.” Miss Holliday says. Everyone begins packing up their stuff. “Don’t forget to do the homework for Wednesday.”

Hope stands, shouldering her bag, and waits for Maya to do the same. She takes the drawing with her, figuring she could show it to Penelope at some point. Penelope would probably get a kick out of it, though her favorite target seems to be Lizzie and not Josie.

Obviously, Hope likes going for Josie the most. Lizzie reacts too easily and honestly, she still sort of scares Hope ‘cause of that breakdown she had last year. At least Hope knows Josie won’t tackle her over a few unkind words and a slushie to the face.

As soon as Hope and Maya step out into the hall, Sebastian and one of the Cheerios - a freshman, possibly named Dana - flank them. The freshman seems wide-eyed and a tad over excited about being in their presence, so Hope decides to ignore her. She can’t deal with groupies or, worse, one of Sebastian’s clingy ex-hookups.

“Are you coming to my house tonight, Hope?” Sebastian asks, twisting his arm around her hips. “I’ve got wine coolers.”

He waggles his eyebrows at her suggestively and Hope rolls her eyes. “I have a boyfriend and no desire to end up pregnant in high school.”

“We’d have beautiful babies.”

“Yeah, but if they came out with your accent I’d shoot myself.” She replies, making Maya laugh.

Sebastian makes a dramatic whining noise but doesn’t remove his hand from her side. Hope allows it. He flirts with everyone like this and she’s pretty sure he gave up on the idea of them ever hooking up sometime in sophomore year, so she isn’t worried.

“What’s this? Is that Saltzman?” He questions, taking the drawing from her and looking it over.

Something close to fear stirs in Hope’s stomach every time someone picks it up. She keeps imagining one of her friends looking at it for a little too long and then asking her why it’s drawn in so much detail underneath all of the marker. Hope doesn’t have an answer for that herself. Just trying to think of an explanation causes her to burn with embarrassment - but only on the inside, she’ll be damned if she lets anyone see her blush over Josie Saltzman.

“Yeah.” She confirms, though she doesn’t really need to. No one else they know has that lip shape.

Sometimes Hope wonders how other people keep themselves from staring at Josie’s mouth, it’s so (oddly distracting) gross.

“This is great.” Sebastian grins down at it, the glint in his eyes mischievous, and then promptly crumples it in his hands as soon as he spots the Saltzman twins. “Watch this.”

“Seb, what are you-“ Hope’s words fade out as he winds his arm back and throws it in Josie and Lizzie’s direction.

It goes soaring through the air and hits Lizzie in the cheek. Hard. It’s only paper, but it went fast enough that Hope’s memory was called back to some of Sebastian’s baseball games last year.

She watches Lizzie frown and start to unfold the ball of paper a bit reluctantly. Sebastian is already laughing even though they haven’t even seen the drawing yet. Hope has the sudden urge to have his hands off of her and subtly steps away under the guise of laughing along.

Of course, Lizzie shows the drawing to Josie. Hope feels something heavy swell in her chest as she watches. It’s as if she’s in a movie theater, sitting in the very first row and waiting for a jump scare to come. Her stomach is in knots. Distantly, she thinks about how this is one of the first times anyone has ever seen a drawing of hers that she’s actually worked hard on.

She almost feels as if she’s waiting for Josie’s approval - which is absolutely ridiculous. Hope definitely doesn’t need anything from that loser, and yet she slows her pace to see Josie’s reaction.

After what feels like hours, Josie finally has a reaction. The girl simply rolls her eyes without looking at Hope and tosses the paper into a nearby trash can. She continues her conversation with her sister as if that was nothing.

Hope seethes, feeling unmistakably burned. She thinks if anyone were to run their thumb over her insides right now, their skin would come away hot and covered in soot.

“Hey, Dumb and Dumber.” Hope barks at them, unnecessarily loud. “Did anyone ever tell you that trolls aren’t supposed to leave their bridge?”

All of her friends laugh, along with a few uneasy surrounding students, but Hope just marches on. The insult had done nothing to dismiss the burning under her skin, and the way Josie had looked at her - all kicked-puppy eyes and disappointment - definitely hadn’t done much to help either.

She storms down the hall, practically dragging Sebastian and Maya with her, leaving a line of ash wherever she goes.

—————

When Landon approaches her at her locker after school, looking nervous and a bit constipated, Hope knows that the upcoming conversation won’t be good. Normal conversation with Landon is always about Star Wars or video games, so she can’t be sure that it could ever be classified as good, but Hope gets the sense this will be worse than usual.

He only wears that expression when he has to tell her something bad. Or when he’s horny.

Considering both options, Hope pulls at the chain digging into her neck. She tugs it out from under her Cheerios uniform so the cross can dangle in front of her chest. Hopefully Landon will have enough sense to see it and remember their celibacy pledge.

“Hey.” He greets, running his hand along her waist and smiling kindly. “So… I’m failing history.”

Hope looks at him peculiarly. She doesn’t care about his grades - all she wants from Landon is reassurance that he’ll secure his position as quarterback and not do anything to make his reputation plummet. She’s told him this before (though, not in those exact words), so she isn’t sure why he’s filling her in on his history grade.

“Just ask Mr. Saltzman to give you extra credit. He’s nice.” Hope shrugs, pretending to be interested while she fishes for her cheer bag in the back of her locker.

“He did give me extra credit.” Landon replies.

He continues to linger behind her awkwardly, his hand still stiff on her waist. His pinkie inches very slowly towards her ass, most likely on accident. Hope flinches away from him anyways, disguising it by turning to face him.

“And?” Hope hates when she has to use her Queen Bitch voice on Landon. His face is almost as pathetic as Josie’s. “Spit it out.”

“Mr. Saltzman is making me join Glee Club. It’s either that or after-school tutoring, and then I can’t be on the football team-“

“No.” Hope dismisses him.

“What?” Landon’s eyebrows pinch together.

” _No._ ”

Hope shuts her locker, resisting the urge to insult him the way she would if it were anyone else. There are still a few people roaming the halls, and the happy couple can’t be seen arguing so blatantly.

“Just do some extra work, like Maya did.” Hope explains, remembering how the brunette had to get to school early to study. “Glee Club is social suicide. You know the type of people who join Glee Clubs?”

“Uh, singers-“

“Gay people. And sad, high school rejects who have nothing better to do, like Josie.” She huffs angrily.

Why do the Saltzmans have to ruin everything? Mr. Saltzman takes her boyfriend hostage, Lizzie never stops eyeing Sebastian, and Josie seems to leak into every faucet of Hope’s life. She’s everywhere. Hope swears that she saw a strawberry in the grocery store once that reminded her of the color of those lips Josie never stops moving - why doesn’t the girl have an off button?

It would make everyone’s life a lot easier if Josie just stopped invading Hope’s life in every possible way.

Not to mention the fact that Josie had been wearing Landon’s jacket the other day. She looked so… comfortable in it. It was sickening.

“I’m not gay.” Landon frowns, thinking something over before he perks up. “You know I’m not gay. Remember in the hot tub when we-“

“We’re in public.” Hope hisses, remembering how Landon’s tongue had fumbled into her mouth.

She fights the urge to shudder.

Deciding that this conversation isn’t going anywhere, Hope stalks off down the hall. She’s going to be late for cheerleading practice, and she definitely can’t have that. She’s head Cheerio. They’ve been practicing since the summer and Hope hasn’t missed a single meet-up, so she’s not going to start now all because Landon suddenly wants to throw a Pride parade.

It takes a second, but Landon’s footsteps come stumbling after her. “Wait. I still think I have to join Glee Club. I told Mr. Saltzman I would.”

Hope marches on, ignoring him until she reaches the field and realizes that he’s still right behind her. If he wasn’t so damn tall, maybe Hope would actually be able to make an escape.

“Fine.” She tells him simply.

Hope isn’t really happy with the idea of him in that club (the thought of him spending long periods of time with those losers churns her stomach), but she isn’t in the right headspace to come up with a solution at the moment.

Landon stops, shutting his mouth with a click of surprise. He obviously thought he was going to get more backlash from her. His eyes search her face and once he sees that Hope appears calm, he smiles goofily and takes her by the waist again.

Knowing the whole squad is probably a few yards away watching, Hope sets her hands on his arms and smooths the wrinkles out of his flannel.

“I’m going to be quarterback this year.” He says it like an _I love you_.

Maybe that’s as close as they’re ever meant to get to the words.

Hope nods. She hopes that will be enough to keep everything at bay. Maybe this hatred for their Glee Club won’t extend any farther past the defacing of sign-up sheets. Landon can do it until his grade is up and then ditch whatever losers decided to join.

“And win your first game.” Hope leans up on her tippy toes and kisses his cheek quickly.

“Definitely.” Landon grins at her, all teeth. “Then we’ll celebrate after?”

She gets the sense that celebrating for Landon means something more than five beers and a party at Sebastian’s house, but she nods anyways.

“Sure.”

Once Landon leaves, Hope returns to her squad. They’re all stretching already, eyes determined to stay set on the grass. Hope knows that they were all watching the encounter a second ago. She straightens her back and sets her bag down like a general summoning an army, running on the power and confidence that only comes with having a hot boy wrapped right around her finger.

“How’s Landon?” Maya asks. Her eyes are squinted in the sun, dark hair splayed all over the grass as Penelope helps her stretch. “He looks good. Like a sexy… who’s the guy from the Lord of the Rings, Penny?”

“Frodo.” Penelope supplies.

Maya beams up at Hope. “Yeah. Sexy Frodo.”

Hope would take that as an insult if it were anyone else, but Maya’s mind probably isn’t strong enough to stretch to insults. That’s just how Maya talks most of the time, like she somehow aged back ten years.

“Thanks, Maya.” Hope replies, bending down to join them on the field.

Maya’s leg is ramrod straight in the air and Penelope is crouching over her, gently pushing her leg closer and closer to her body. Their faces are already pink, though they haven’t been out on the field long enough for that. Penelope’s hand splays out on Maya’s thigh and Maya giggles under her, only grinning more when Penelope gets closer.

They’re such good friends.

Hope can’t help but watch them with a sense of longing. She’s never had a best friend like that before. Sure, Maya and Penelope are her friends, but they’re also Maya and Penelope. They’re such a close pair that Hope feels as if she’s an afterthought in their story.

Sometimes, Hope just wants someone to really care about her. Someone who would send her secret, happy glances in class and always be there to hug her when she needs it. Preferably a girl, so Landon won't get jealous.

“Alright, girls.” Hope says, pulling herself up from where she’d been stretching. “Let’s start with running some laps.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank u for all of the comments! I’ll try and respond to all of them :D
> 
> Also, for those who have watched Glee, don’t worry Hope won’t get pregnant

A high school lunch line hasn’t moved this slow since food was invented. Josie scowls at the teenagers in front of her and resists the urge to roll her eyes as one boy takes about a thousand years to decide between a pear and an apple.

Their second Glee Club meeting began exactly two minutes ago and Josie still hasn’t gotten her food. Her dad asked them all to meet in the auditorium instead of the band room, which only makes things worse ‘cause Josie isn’t entirely sure she remembers where the auditorium actually is. Lizzie isn’t even here with her to help navigate, because she actually had the good sense to pack herself a lunch.

Josie bounces on her toes nervously and snatches up a paper plate as soon as she’s close enough to get one. It’s not like they’re going to start without her, but being late is never a good feeling, especially this early into the club.

“Thinking about downing yet another slice of cake for lunch?” A voice comes from behind her, familiar and sharp as ever, and Josie is so startled that she accidentally bumps into the guy in front of her.

The nameless boy glares at her, but Josie pays him no mind. His dirty look is nothing compared to the full on assault Hope’s eyes are having on her right now. Every boy pales in comparison to Hope Mikaelson.

“I- uh.” Josie fumbles, looking around anxiously. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn’t even noticed Hope lingering behind her all this time.

Why didn’t Hope say something earlier? Surely there was no time limit on when she could and couldn’t insult Josie. Was Hope just in line this whole time, staring at Josie’s back and planning a murder?

Whatever goes on in Hope’s mind is truly terrifying.

“I’m speaking to you, Sloppy Joe.” Hope goes on without missing a beat - it’s almost as if her words are lines she’s rehearsed a thousand times over. “Did you fall and hit your head or-“

“I thought we had an agreement.” Josie interjects quietly when she notices they’re drawing some attention.

The last time they spoke - well, excluding Hope angrily barking an insult at her and Lizzie in passing the other day - they made an agreement about not speaking of the jacket incident. Some stupid part of Josie had thought that Hope would keep her promise, especially since Josie hasn’t gone near Landon since then. Apparently, she’s overestimated Hope’s kindness. Again.

“We _did_.” Hope replies, eyes narrowed into slits.

It sounds like the kind of vague, teenage girl response that someone would give in a bad coming of age movie, but Josie is drawing blanks. She’s not a viewer in this movie, she’s a character. A clueless character.

She has no idea why Hope is suddenly mad again and it bothers her. Only slightly. Josie knows what Hope’s different levels of anger look like, and this is more than just the usual bitchy level she seems to rest on.

“Okay. Well.” Josie lifts her foot, intending to take a big step back and stopping short when she remembers the boy she’d already bumped into. It would probably be a failed effort anyways, since every time Josie steps out Hope steps right back in. “I… have to go to glee now. So.”

Josie has no idea why she’s explaining herself. Of course, Hope doesn’t care what Josie is doing with her time or where she’s going (unless it comes to Josie’s nonexistent love life - then Hope seems borderline obsessed).

It’s becoming unsettling, how Hope’s eyes are following her. Josie thinks about how alarming it would feel to have sharks come at her in the water and decides, right then and there, that the blue in Hope’s eyes seems more dangerous than the threats in the ocean.

Fuck. She needs to stop being so dramatic or she’ll sound like Lizzie. It’s not like Hope is about to grow fangs and kill her in front of all of their peers.

She quickly swipes a salad off the lunch tray, because it’s the first thing she sees and won’t result in any further teasing from Hope. As soon as it’s in her hands, Josie steps out of line and dashes to the first exit she can see.

Her life will probably get better once she stops comparing Hope’s eyes to the ocean.

Josie has to rush down the halls to get there at a reasonable time with her salad in hand. It’s sort of hard to find the auditorium, since she’s only been in there a handful of times, mostly during special assemblies or to see plays. When she finally gets there, the rest of the club is already waiting for her. All five members.

Wait. Five?

As Josie approaches, she squints at the extra figure. It isn’t her dad, because he’s sitting in the front row. This person is new and sort of familiar, but not enough that she recognizes them easily. The auditorium is so large and empty that it takes Josie a while to get close enough to really make out any facial features. Eventually, she sees a bundle of dark curls, pale skin, and an unmistakably uncomfortable expression on the boy’s face.

“Landon?” Josie questions, shocked. Her salad container almost slips from her fingers and she has to remind herself to get a grip, both on her meal and her mental state.

This explains it all. Landon is here. At their Glee Club meeting, in the Glee Club.

_Landon_ , Hope’s boyfriend who Josie swore she would stay a safe distance away from. This must look very bad, considering there’s no way Landon would have joined out of his own free will. Hope is a smart girl, she had to have guessed that Josie played a part in all of this.

Josie has the sudden urge to go find Hope and apologize - what a ridiculous idea that is - but she resists, because Landon Kirby is in front of her in all of his attractive glory.

Landon’s eyebrows scrunch adorably in confusion and he tilts his head before smiling brightly.

“Hey.” He points at her. “I know you.”

Josie brightens, feeling almost as if she might wet herself with excitement. She can’t believe her plan worked.

“You do?”

He nods seriously. “Yeah. Seb wrecked you with that slushie. You took it like a champ, dude.”

Josie’s smile falls as soon as the words leave his lips. Great, she’s been branded as both Slushie Girl and Dude and it’s only been a minute. It doesn’t help that this interaction has an audience. Her dad is sending her an obvious pity look and both Ethan and Rafael have awkwardly set their eyes elsewhere, though they seem more amused than uncomfortable.

Alaric claps his hands together to get their attention. “Okay, why don’t we start. Landon, do you want to introduce yourself?”

As the attention goes elsewhere, Josie sets her salad down on the chair next to her dad. She suddenly doesn’t feel like eating - especially in front of her crush. She silently climbs the stairs up to the stage and slides into the empty spot next to Lizzie, which conveniently puts her right beside Landon. Her heart is currently doing mini cartwheels in her chest.

“I’m Landon.” He smiles goofily at all of them, but Josie feels as if it’s mostly directed at her. “I’m the quarterback. Well. Almost. I like football and, uh… grilled cheese.”

He’s so charming.

Lizzie pokes Josie’s side excitedly and Josie swats her away, but she can’t help the smile that keeps tumbling onto her face whenever she glances at Landon. And she’ll admit, she’s looking at him a lot more than she probably should.

It’s just that this feels like some sort of dream. Yes, she set up this whole plan for her dad to get Landon in the club, but she never actually thought it would happen. It was the same as jokingly asking her dad for a Mustang - she enjoyed saying the words and living in the fantasy, but that didn’t mean she thought she would wake up to a shiny new car in her driveway.

Yet, here Landon is. Bright and shiny as ever.

“You have to put cream cheese on it, too. That’s the best way.” Landon prattles on when Alaric doesn’t think to stop him.

“Okay.” Alaric finally says. “Thank you, Landon.”

An awkward moment passes where Alaric is shuffling around papers and all of the original kids from the club are peering at Landon uncertainly (except for Josie, who honestly hasn’t heard a word since she started standing next to him).

“Can you even sing?” Ethan asks finally, which is the question that’s been on all of their minds.

Landon faces Ethan with this blank expression and for a moment almost all of them think to lean away from him. Nice or not, Landon is best friends with Sebastian, who has been torturing every unpopular kid in this school for years. On the surface, Landon is just another one of those asshole jocks. He’s dating Hope, he holds a place at the table with the football players and cheerleaders, and pretty soon he’ll be getting a letterman jacket.

There’s no sensible reason for Landon to be here. There’s also no reason why Landon wouldn't punch Ethan in the throat for questioning him (that’s definitely what Sebastian would do), but Landon just smiles and shrugs.

“I don’t know, bro.” Landon scratches the back of his head. “I’m not sure why you want me, actually. I’m not into show tunes and I’m not like… gay or anything.”

“We’re not gay.” Rafael pipes up, frowning.

Landon shrugs again, fiddling with his hands. He certainly doesn’t look like one of those popular jerks. Josie thinks it’s cute.

“Okay, sorry. It’s just something my girlfriend said.” He explains.

It takes a strangely long moment for Josie to connect the dots. She rarely ever thinks of Hope as Landon’s girlfriend. That’s not how they know each other. Well actually, Hope and Josie don’t really know each other at all, but in Josie’s head Hope is always this big, extraordinary force that never slows down for a boy or for anyone.

Hearing her be reduced to ‘Landon’s girlfriend’ feels wrong somehow.

“Hope talks about us?” Josie asks curiously, not really meaning to. Hope isn’t even here and still, things are always about her.

“Oh, uh. Yeah.” Landon suddenly looks a bit guilty. “Sometimes.”

Josie studies his face for a second before he dips his head and looks elsewhere. Something heavy settles in Josie’s chest unexpectedly and she can’t help but clench her jaw.

“Not nice things, I assume?”

It’s not what she wants to be talking to her crush about, but it just sort of comes out.

Landon scuffs his shoe on the stage. “You know how Hope is. Angry. It’s kind of hot and kind of scary, but like - I don’t know. She’s mean.”

Josie fights the strange feeling bubbling up in her chest. This is the first thing about Landon that she doesn’t like. His words are a jumbled mess, with sentences that stop unexpectedly and noises that sound like speaking the English language is a challenge for him. It must be close to torture to have a long conversation with him.

Once again, Josie has no idea how Hope and Landon would work together. Even how they speak sets them worlds apart. Hope’s voice is always clear and direct, and she rarely ever stumbles over a syllable or has to fight to be heard.

“Guys, why don’t we do some singing.” Alaric suggests, walking up to the edge of the stage with sheets in his hand. “We need to practice and we need to welcome Landon. It takes twelve people to compete at Sectionals and we now have six.”

That little bit of information takes them all by surprise. Josie hadn’t even thought about Sectionals. She barely knows what it is. It still freaks her out to think about singing in front of people outside of this room.

“Twelve people? Twelve?” Lizzie questions loudly, clearly exasperated. “How are we supposed to find six more losers who would want to be here?”

“I’m not a loser. I’m just bad at history.” Landon murmurs at the floor, but he goes on ignored.

Alaric holds up his hands in a signal that indicates for Lizzie to be quiet. He glances at Josie for some support, but Josie simply shrugs. She has no idea how they’re supposed to get six more people to join and still have enough time to practice with all of them. Even if they do manage to do that, there’s a low chance that they’ll be good enough to compete against other clubs that have been practicing for much longer.

“It will be fine, Lizzie. We have Landon now.” Her dad assures them, but it doesn’t seem very comforting. “Let’s just run through a song. Do you guys know Grease?”

Half of them have seen the movie and those who haven’t vaguely recognize the song Alaric passes out - You’re The One That I Want.

They get to work on it fairly quickly, with Landon and Josie taking the leads while the others sing the background vocals. It doesn’t sound bad and Landon’s voice is as sweet as Josie remembers (albeit a little hesitant and rough), but their choreography is sort of horrible. It only gets worse when Alaric leaves for a few minutes to use the bathroom. Rafael keeps getting pushed around the stage in his chair, MG accidentally bumps into Lizzie several times, and Landon is as stiff as a board.

Josie basically has to run the group, since she knows the lyrics by heart. She takes some creative initiative. Okay, so that creative initiative might include totally disregarding the sheet music and walking across the stage to hold hands with Landon, but the club needs some leadership.

His hand is so big and warm compared to hers. It’s like a paw or something and-

“What the hell is this?”

Josie very quickly drops Landon’s hand when Hope unexpectedly shows up, yet again. This time Hope is standing in one of the rows between the lines of seats, watching them with a furious expression on her face.

Again, Josie has no idea when Hope even got here and how long Hope has been watching (her) them.

“Oh - Hope.” Landon says awkwardly, visibly trying not to cower under Hope’s angry eyes. “I told you I was joining Glee Club.”

“Yeah, joining the club, not hooking up with Trouty Mouth.” Hope fires back, all of her words directed at Landon but her gaze set straight on Josie.

It’s frightening to everyone. MG gently starts to tug Lizzie off stage and Ethan slowly rolls Rafael away like they’re all expecting some sort of massive fight to go down.

Landon approaches Hope the way someone would if they were going to diffuse a bomb. “I’m not hooking up with her. We’re practicing. Why are you here, anyways?”

He sits on the edge of the stage to reach her and Josie stands behind Landon, a little stunned, as she watches Hope soften up some. She knows they’re dating, but it’s odd to see them actually interact like this. Especially since Josie is now the only one who didn’t think to leave the stage or exit the auditorium and her dad hasn’t come back to save her.

“Lunch ended forever ago.” Hope explains, raising her chin and setting her hands on her hips almost comically. “You said you’d walk me to class.”

“I’m sorry, babe.” Landon says.

Landon leans in to kiss her and Hope kisses him back. The action lasts for a bit too long. Josie stands there awkwardly, until she notices that Hope’s eyes are open and she’s very obviously glaring at Josie.

Hope’s hands tangle in Landon’s hair as she locks eyes with Josie and for a moment, Josie is unable to look away. There are several emotions running through her body at the moment. Anger. Jealousy. Disgust. Arousal.

Hope looks like a good kisser. She completely dominates the kiss, the way she does everything else. She holds Landon in place and practically kisses through him, makes it seem almost as if it’s not about him at all. It’s all about Hope. And maybe Josie, too.

Seeing Hope like this - possessive and barely repressing her frustration - is overwhelming. Josie finally looks away. She hears a wet pop come from the couple as they separate and Josie’s cheeks are hot, but she’s the only one out of the three of them that hasn’t been touched.

She understands now, why Landon would rush to the sidelines after a win and want to get his hands on Hope before even thinking to catch his breath. She understands the desperation behind his actions - the way he’d pant into her mouth and paw at her openly on the field. Josie understands it because she feels it now, the urge to just crash into Hope. Maybe not to kiss or touch her, but to be near her.

It’s a stupid, dangerous urge. One Josie will never choose to act on.

Josie eyes the cross on Hope’s necklace and silently wonders why God chose to give Hope Mikaelson her own gravitational pull.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If u haven’t seen Glee and want to see some of the angry gay energy I’m basing this off of (also what the Cheerios outfits look like), watch this: 
> 
> https://youtu.be/wycKSUsvLeU

The next day is possibly the weirdest day of Josie’s life.

The first time she gets slushied, right before her first class (in front of her incompetent math teacher who claims that throwing slushies isn’t a legitimate form of violence), she brushes it off. It’s always a shock to be calm one second and frozen to the bone the next, but it’s happened before. Josie doesn’t even complain once when she has to wash herself off, because she’s wearing a jacket that keeps her shirt from getting too soaked.

Then, while she’s talking to MG about his favorite comics, a couple of faceless, muscled-up boys toss slushies in her face again. It’s not the first time for this to happen twice in one day, but the amount of purple slush seems off this time. It’s so much that it manages to soak deep into her underwear. She’s used to them humiliating her, not ruining her clothes completely.

Still, Josie shakes it off. It definitely isn’t the worst thing to happen to her. This is why she has a back-up outfit, after all.

It’s all fun and games until the third slushie comes, followed by another one directly after that, until Josie’s second outfit is completely covered in wet purple and blue spots. Every minute she’s out of class is a minute where she’s worried about getting slushied, and it doesn’t help that random guys (not even just the jocks, some of them look as if they’re on academic decathlon) all seem to be holding Big Gulp cups.

At lunch, several boys walk by her with the cups and Josie flinches away, still dripping from the last onslaught of sugary beverages.

The cups turn out to be completely empty. The boys laugh amongst themselves at Josie’s obvious fear and walk away without touching her. It’s just a mind trick. A power play. One that idiotic teenage boys would not be able to come up with on their own.

Josie suddenly realizes that no one would be able to terrorize her as well as Hope, and she sits up to peer around the cafeteria for her.

“I should kill them.” MG is ranting angrily, glancing between the retreating boys and Josie’s (probably) pathetic appearance. “They don’t get to mess with you like that.”

“It’s not them.” Josie replies, not even looking at him as she bats his complaint away. All of her attention is on one thing.

Where the hell is Hope?

Josie sees all of the football players (or soon to be football players, since tryouts are after school today) at one table, laughing along with the girls in their Cheerios outfits. Landon is there with his arm around an empty chair, looking a little lost without Hope at his side.

“Sit down, you’re drawing too much attention to yourself.” Lizzie hisses, clearly embarrassed.

People are starting to turn to look at her, because she’s standing as if she’s about to give a speech and she also looks like someone dunked her in a rainbow with all the colors on her. Josie sits down with a sigh, unsatisfied with her search for Hope.

She gets through maybe thirty more seconds of quiet conversation with MG and Lizzie before she grows restless and tells them she has to use the bathroom. Neither of them seem to believe her lie, but neither of them try to stop her as she exits the cafeteria and leaves her lunch practically untouched.

The utter lack of Hope’s presence paired with all of the slushies is unsettling. It makes Josie want to jump out of her own skin. She feels as if Hope is going to pop out of nowhere with a knife to stab her.

Josie only starts to breathe easy when she finally makes it to the bathroom and spots familiar white tennis shoes attached to pale legs, peeking out from under a stall. The sudden relief that fills her at seeing her biggest bully is probably the most idiotic feeling in the world. She shouldn’t find any comfort in someone who ridicules her everyday.

Well, nearly everyday. Hope hasn’t even spoken to her today.

Josie stands awkwardly by the sinks, trying not to feel creepy and keeping her eyes off of Hope’s ankles since she’s probably using the bathroom. She honestly has no idea what she’s doing. For some reason, she feels as if a confrontation with Hope will help her somehow. At least she knows what to expect from that.

The minutes stretch on with Josie standing silently in the bathroom. Hope doesn’t exit the stall. For a moment, Josie is worried that she just walked in on Hope having stomach problems and Josie is the biggest weirdo in the world, but then she hears the quiet scratching against the door. It almost sounds as if Hope is writing something, with how the little squeaks echo in the room.

There are many random doodles all around the stalls, but Josie had never thought Hope was one of those people who had time for casual vandalism.

Josie clears her throat loudly, feeling like an idiot as soon as she does it. The scribbling noises stop abruptly and Josie tenses, thinking that this may be a bit of a bad idea. She has to keep herself from giving up and running away. She wants to talk to Hope, even if it’s just to exchange insults.

The stall door swings open and Hope steps out, looking momentarily startled before she raises an eyebrow and goes to wash her hands.

“Do I have to file a restraining order?” Hope asks and Josie has the decency to blush - this time, she did purposefully follow Hope into the bathroom. Stalker status confirmed.

Still, Josie can’t help but be curious about what Hope was doing in here. She looks at Hope’s hands for a moment, her face reddening to an even darker shade as she eyes the long fingers that are now very wet. Hormones aside, there’s a marker resting next to the sink that Hope was clearly using to draw something.

Josie steps past Hope, immediately heading to the stall Hope had just been in.

“Are you deaf or do you have some weird pee fetish?” Hope spins around, clearly not minding that her hands are still wet, and blocks the stall with her body. “Why are you obsessed with me?”

“It’s a bathroom. You don’t own it.” Josie replies, trying to put some confidence into her words.

Hope seems slightly rattled and it’s only making Josie’s curiosity grow. She’s a little worried that Hope will spread some rumor about her having a urine fetish, but she wants to see what’s in the stall. Whatever it is, it has exposed the soft spot in Hope’s armor.

“Use another stall.” Hope boxes her arms up around the entrance protectively. “I don’t need some gay pervert in my business.”

“Not all gay people are perverts.” Josie protests, finally stepping away from Hope.

She doesn’t want to be near someone who thinks that way. Sometimes Hope is so confusing. One minute Hope is calling Josie a homo and the next she’s accusing Josie of being in love with Landon. It’s one or the other.

The panic in Hope’s eyes seems to fade away as they step away from the stall and to the sinks, her signature cold look setting in easily. “Of course you’d say that. Everyone you hangout with is… like that.”

Josie pauses, giving Hope a once over. Hope seems disgusted, but also clueless on the topic. She can barely say the words. It’s sort of odd, how she almost sounds like a child repeating things her parents have told her. Maybe her parents did tell her that.

“Some gay people are Christians, you know.” She says slowly, leaving enough space between them that she knows she can get away if Hope decides to drag her down to hell. “And not everyone-“

The bathroom door opens suddenly, revealing Penelope Park, and Josie has to fight the urge to jump. She almost forgot that this is a public place and not another universe where Hope and Josie have private conversations.

Penelope frowns at the fact that Josie is even alive and then smirks wickedly at Hope. “God, it looks like the freak is about to mount you. Do we need to get you a bodyguard?”

Hope laughs and bumps her shoulder roughly into Josie’s as she goes to get a paper towel. Her whole demeanor has changed - less focused anger and more casual cruelty.

“No, but we should use a different bathroom.” Hope links her arm with Penelope’s. It’s odd to see Hope being friendly with someone. “Wouldn’t want to give her a free peep show.”

Josie watches them go with a dejected sigh, silently wondering how their ponytails always sway in sync like that. It’s a little worrying how the insults don’t get to her anymore, but for now she’s just glad that she’s unbothered. She did come here on a mission, after all.

She notices that Hope left the marker on the sink and grabs it, figuring she can use it to help figure out which drawing is which. Josie only feels slightly weird as she goes into the stall with no intention to use the toilet. Once she’s inside, she looks around for a total of two seconds before she knows which drawing is Hope’s.

It’s her.

It’s so obviously Josie.

Josie is shocked by the carefully sketched details of her face, the curves and lines that make up her jaw and cheeks, and the perfectly round circles of her eyes. The only thing wrong with her face is that she has comically big lips in this, but she thinks that was intentional. The rest of the drawing is, well… it’s just.

Drawing Josie is naked.

Like, fully and completely naked. The drawing goes on past her neck to slender shoulders, full breasts, a slim waist, and bare legs. The unbelievable thing about it is that this girl on the stall door is hot. Her body is unmistakably attractive in a way that’s almost uncomfortable to see drawn in a high school bathroom. It can’t be Josie - but it is Josie, because she sees the tiny birthmark on Drawing Josie’s rib and the freckle near her bellybutton.

The body drawn in front of her is beautiful and Josie is not. She’s felt the pang of insecurity surrounding her body for years, ever since puberty started. Sometimes Josie can’t even bring herself to look in the mirror after showering, especially when she has to go to school and have Penelope point out her stomach rolls.

Sloppy Joe, that’s what Hope had called her, and that’s what Josie is - but then again, Hope had drawn this. Some part of Hope sees her this way.

_Beautiful_.

Josie’s stomach swoops and she tugs on her bottom lip with her teeth, tracing the drawing with her eyes again and again. Part of her wants to take out her phone and photograph it, but that seems as if it would be odd. She can’t help but stay in the stall for a lot longer than usual, brushing her thumb gently over the curves (the ones Josie didn’t know she had) on the wall, careful not to smear the marker.

This is such a strange form of bullying. Josie assumes it was made to torment her further, but it’s an oddly nice gesture. Still, Josie isn’t sure how she feels about the nudity.

—————

By the end of the day, Josie has been slushied a total of ten times. All of her clothes are ruined, including her backup ones. The only reason she doesn’t immediately go home is because MG wants her and Lizzie there for his football tryouts, so Josie is forced to sit uncomfortably in the empty bleachers.

Since her clothes are fucked, Josie is wearing a stained pair of shorts and a sports bra. She feels incredibly self conscious, since basically every hot guy in school is out on the field along with the Cheerios, but she tries not to show it. To distract herself, she tries to focus on Landon, but when that doesn’t really work her eyes fall to Hope.

It suddenly feels as if she knows nothing about her. Or maybe Josie is just realizing that she never saw Hope outside of her Queen Bitch exterior. She didn’t know Hope could draw. It was actually really good. Sort of familiar though, like that one Sebastian hurled at Lizzie the other day.

Josie tries hard to remember it, thinking of how detailed it had been under all of the crude marker. She hadn’t thought much of it, but now there’s the possibility that Hope has drawn her _twice_.

“You need to do something to get back at her.” Lizzie says, noticing Josie’s line of sight and nudging her arm.

Realizing how long she’s been staring, Josie pries her eyes away. “How? She’s Hope Mikaelson.”

“I don’t know, but do something and soon ‘cause she’ll never leave you alone now that you’ve held hands with Landon Kirby.” Lizzie says his name like he’s a celebrity. It looks as if he’s going to be the quarterback (which is as far as fame goes in this town), so maybe he is.

Josie looks over at Landon, finding him throwing a football to Sebastian. Landon already looks sweaty and tired, but the ball soars perfectly through the air. Josie already knows he’s going to be the quarterback - it just fits. Sweet, dopey jock with a kind smile who leads the football team to victory time and time again.

It’s the kind of thing that makes Josie weak in the knees, but it doesn’t fill her with curiosity the way looking at Hope does.

Hope is currently on top of a pyramid, her arms raised high in the air and her smile bright on her face as she stands on top of the entire cheerleading squad. She looks almost too perfect, like an angel who has been raised above the clouds. Angels don’t go around insulting people and then drawing nude photos of them, so maybe Josie’s view of Hope is all off.

In a less metaphorical sense, her view is actually pretty good. Hope looks so powerful up on that pyramid, with her muscles pulled taut and the pink blush on her skin looking like war paint.

“You should join the Cheerios or something. Infiltrate the vultures.” Lizzie suggests.

“I can’t just join the Cheerios, they started practicing in the summer.” Josie replies. Her brain is spinning - she needs to do something, but it needs to be smarter than that. “Plus, Hope runs half of those practices. She would make me run until I vomit and die.”

“Then join something else of hers. Show her you’re not afraid.”

Josie laughs lightly. “Hope has Cheerios and religion. What am I going to do, take a celibacy pledge?”

Lizzie looks at her then, her face completely blank. Call it a twin thing or just familiarity, but Josie already knows that Lizzie is building some sort of absurd plan to get back at Hope for years of bullying.

“Lizzie.” Josie starts. “I can’t-“

“What? It’s not like you’re getting any, anyways.”

Josie scoffs and pinches Lizzie’s side, smiling smugly when Lizzie yelps and drops the ridiculous idea.


	8. Chapter 8

After tryouts, they end up going to a little Italian place called Breadstix to celebrate. None of them know if MG actually got on the football team yet, but Josie and Lizzie aren’t going to pass up an opportunity to stuff down copious amounts of bread.

“So, how do you think you did?” Josie asks, once they’re seated and she’s halfway through a breadstick. She’s getting odd looks, probably because she’s now wearing MG’s oversized Green Lantern shirt.

“Pretty good.” MG replies, smiling goofily. He looks tired, but also very proud of himself. “I think I might make wide receiver. Landon is obviously going to be the quarterback, that dude has one hell of an arm.”

Lizzie laughs. “Oh, we know. Josie was practically drooling.”

Josie feels her face warm and she focuses on drinking more of her water, embarrassed with her obvious staring. Now that she thinks about it, she hadn’t really looked at Landon that much. He was far away and Hope was sort of blocking her view of him.

“You might have a shot, Jo. You two looked cute when you were holding hands.” MG says helpfully.

“Thanks, MG.”

Usually his optimism would flow right into her, but this time it barely brushes her skin. Josie busies herself with her bread and the menu in front of her, wanting to talk about anything besides Hope or Landon. They’re all she thinks about these days, and that can’t be healthy.

“There’s no shot with Hope, the Wicked Witch of the West, running around.” Lizzie closes her menu and begins using it to make wild, dramatic hand gestures. “She’s going to sic her flying monkeys on you.”

Josie expects MG to try and calm Lizzie down, but he just nods in agreement while trying to swallow three breadsticks at once.

“Puhwa move.” MG says around his mouthful. She thinks he means power move.

“Exactly. Do something unexpected. Join the Celibacy Club.” Lizzie chimes in and they both nod very seriously like this is the answer to all of Josie’s problems.

She looks between them for a moment, wondering if they’ve gone insane. Celibacy Club is worse than the Cheerios. The idea of the club isn’t off putting in itself, but the fact that it consists of only the most popular girls in school and their horny boyfriends sitting around discussing sex makes Josie want to cringe.

There’s no supervisor for that club either, so she would just be alone with a group of people who hate her guts. It’s like asking to get killed.

“You two are ridiculous.” Josie rolls her eyes. “I’d be dead in seconds.”

MG finally swallows all of the bread in his mouth and leans forward seriously. “No, see. It’s like football. Before the game, you have to do crazy things to intimidate the other team or they won’t fear you and then they won’t hesitate to tackle you. You need Hope to hesitate, because hesitation means less slushies, which means clean clothes and no humiliation.”

Josie falters, her mind blanking as she tries to come up with some kind of protest. Hope has been playing mind games with her since they met. It’s not the slushies that are the worst part, it’s the fact that Hope is never consistent with her bullying. She constantly manages to knock Josie off center.

Maybe it would be nice to make Hope feel like she’s crazy for once.

“I’ll think about it.” Josie replies, getting satisfied nods from both of her friends.

The waitress comes to take their orders and once they’re all set up with their food, they start to talk about other things. MG gives a long speech about his favorite comic book and football and how they’re very alike somehow. Josie can barely pay attention, because she’s surprised with how Lizzie seems to be hanging onto every nerdy word.

They would make a cute couple if Sebastian and his abs didn’t exist. Josie honestly hopes that MG and Lizzie will somehow end up together, because Sebastian is a total asshole. Plus, everyone knows that getting it on with your high school bully requires a large amount of self-loathing that she doesn’t want her sister to have.

—————

On the way into school the next morning, Josie stops by the dumpster to throw away her apple core. Chewing helps her think. She’s been having deep thoughts about Landon, Hope, and the drawing since yesterday. She tosses the remaining bit of her apple into the dumpster a little harder than necessary, gnawing at the inside of her cheek in thought.

A low groan comes from the dumpster and Josie freezes, momentarily afraid that a zombie is going to pop out and attack her.

A dark haired boy sticks his head out of the dumpster, looking completely disgruntled and not at all happy about having to dig the apple core out of his hair. His right eye is pink around the edges with a clearly forming bruise, and the line down his bottom lip is wet with blood.

“Thanks for that.” He says dryly, glaring at Josie.

Once the shock wears off, Josie immediately feels horrible and rushes closer to help get him out.

“I’m so sorry.” She tells him, grabbing the boy’s arm and pulling hard to yank him out. Josie has seen Sebastian and the rest of those football assholes throw people into the dumpsters, but she’s never actually spoken to one of the victims before. “I didn’t know you were in there.”

“It’s fine.” He bats her away once he’s out, frowning down at the splatter of milk and smeared pasta sauce on his clothes.

Josie would offer him the spare outfit in her locker, but he’s a lot bigger than her and Josie doesn’t think that it will fit. She feels awful, though. Sometimes she forgets that she isn’t the only one being bullied at school. She’s just lucky that girls fight with words instead of fists, or she’d probably be tossed in a dumpster everyday of the year.

“I’m Josie.” She introduces herself. He gives her a grim look before offering his hand.

“Kaleb.” The boy responds as they shake hands and he finally smiles. “You’re Mr. Saltzman’s kid, right? The singer?”

“Yeah. I’m in Glee Club.”

Kaleb goes to a nearby water fountain and starts to clean himself off. Josie hesitates for a moment before beginning to help him, because he’s wiping his shirt off the wrong way and she already knows the proper way to get tough stains out of fabric. It’s a bit sad that she knows exactly what to do and a lot more depressing when she takes a small container of hydrogen peroxide out of her backpack, but he doesn’t comment on it.

“Thanks, Josie.” Kaleb wrings out his semi-clean shirt. “Everyone at this school is a dick, but you’re pretty cool.”

“It’s no problem. And you know, not everyone sucks. The kids in Glee Club aren’t so bad.” She says absentmindedly, thinking of the brief conversations she’s had with Ethan and Rafael.

Josie is about to ask if he sings (her dad was saying earlier how they need to somehow double their members, so she’ll take anyone), but Kaleb stares at her with this expression of his face like he already knows what’s going through her head.

“Listen, you seem nice and I actually like to sing. And I don’t think it’s gay or whatever everyone else says, but…” He scratches the back of his head, seeming disappointed with himself. “I can’t deal with more bullying. Joining glee would just make me more unpopular.”

“But-“ Josie tries, but he takes a step back from her.

Kaleb picks up his things and starts to walk towards the school. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

Josie has no idea why that stings so much, considering they literally just met. She hates how everyone she meets at this school will always know her as a loser, especially with how she has taken multiple slushies to the face in public. Her being tormented doesn’t just affect her anymore, it affects the whole club.

She huffs and decides that all she can really do right now is get ready for class. Josie goes to her locker with a frown on her face. It only deepens when she sees Landon at his locker, right near hers, in the middle of a conversation with Hope.

Josie tries to keep her head down and go unnoticed as she opens her locker and collects her books for first period. Unfortunately, she’s close enough that she can hear everything the couple is saying.

“We’re not going to win prom king and queen with you in Glee Club.” Hope hisses, clearly already annoyed with him even though it’s barely eight in the morning. “I want my crown.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Landon replies, very obviously trying to calm her down.

Josie knows that she shouldn’t eavesdrop, but she can’t help it. As soon as she catches the first bit of their argument, she can’t help but slow down her movements and listen in. It’s interesting to hear Hope mad at someone else for once.

Hope’s voice goes syrupy sweet abruptly, in that fake way Josie has experienced before. “Okay, let’s compromise. If you quit the club, I’ll let you touch my breast.”

The book Josie is holding nearly slips out of her hand and what she’s hearing. Hope sounds so oddly sexy all of a sudden, like she’s been thrown into an over the top porno. It makes Josie’s body slowly start to heat up from the inside out. She wonders if this is what it would feel like to be boiled alive.

Landon’s quiet blubbering comes next. He’s clearly thinking it over, with the awkward, choked noises he’s making.

“Under the shirt?” He questions, a little breathless.

“Over the bra.” Hope says sharply and Josie hears Landon huff in disappointment.

She rolls her eyes and steps closer to her locker, trying to seem smaller so they won’t notice her. Sometimes she forgets that Landon is a teenage boy and probably has that endless pit of horniness in him. The thought kind of makes her sick, because any hormones he has must be taken out during his private time with Hope.

Josie wonders if they’ve had sex, but then she scolds herself for wanting details of their private life. Besides, they probably haven’t, considering that they’re both in the Celibacy Club. Something like relief floods Josie at that thought.

She doesn’t want Hope and Landon having sex ever. It sounds oddly gross.

“No.” Landon finally responds. “I like Glee Club. I mean, it’s only been one meeting but it’s kind of fun. I feel like a rock star.”

“People think you’re gay now, Landon. Do you know what that makes me? Your big, gay, beard.” Hope says a bit louder, not bothering to keep the outrage out of her voice.

Josie tenses just hearing it. She has her back turned so she can’t see anything, but she imagines Landon’s startled flinch. That’s the thing about Hope’s anger - it fluctuates so much that one second she’s simply glaring at someone and the next she’s tearing them apart and spouting numerous insults.

“Just calm down. It’s not a big deal.” Landon replies, obviously overwhelmed. The sound of a locker closing comes and then he rushes away from Hope and past Josie, going down the hall before the argument can continue.

A strange warmth travels up Josie’s back once he’s gone and Josie tenses even more, getting the sense that Hope is watching her. There’s a second where Josie collects herself, waiting for the insult to come, and as soon as she hears Hope’s approaching footsteps she exhales heavily.

“Eavesdrop much?” Hope questions and Josie shuts her locker, dropping the ruse.

When she turns, Hope is standing too close to her again. She stops herself from stepping back, not wanting to seem as startled as she really is by Hope’s proximity.

“I know you have brain damage, so I’ll repeat myself one more time.” Hope seems to be standing much taller than Josie, even though she’s inches shorter. “Leave him alone. You can sing show tunes with him all you want, but you will never have him.”

Josie is about to duck her head and agree to avoid any more insults (she’s much too tired to be dealing with this right now), but MG’s words from earlier suddenly pop into her head. _Power move_. She tries to appear confident and unaffected by Hope’s words, fixing her facial expression into something neutral.

“I get that you’re threatened and possibly incredibly insecure, but I don’t need to steal your boyfriend.” Josie says, resisting the urge to smile when her voice doesn’t waver once.

Hope exhales angrily (Josie is a bit amazed that Hope can put fury into her breathing) but her eyes light up a bit. It looks as if she’s surprised Josie insulted her back, and it makes Josie feel a million times more confident.

“Now that we have Landon, the Glee Club’s status is going up and yours is going down.” Josie tells her, then decides to leave before she can get slapped.

She spins around and takes about three steps before Sebastian comes along and suddenly there’s a mess of ice chunks in her face. Josie gasps, utterly humiliated as she hears Hope laugh loudly behind her.

“Going up, huh?” Hope says in passing.

Josie pushes the corn syrup off of her eyes just in time to see Hope’s smug grin and her swaying, auburn ponytail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thx for all the comments! If u wanna talk more my Twitter is @thatoneurchin


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ik people have wanted nicer Hope, and don’t worry it’s coming

A month after Landon joins the Glee Club, the inevitable happens. Hope is holding his hand, half-listening to him talk about his Star Wars fan theories as they walk down the hall, when she spots one of the hockey boys approaching with a Big Gulp cup.

She steps to the side as the icy slush gets thrown on Landon, only surprised by how cold the liquid feels (it only touches her fingertips where she’s holding him, but it’s still too much of a temperature change). Hope had been having this exact nightmare since he approached her in the hall about the club. Her nightmare had only gotten worse last week, when the football team had lost their first game under Landon’s leadership.

It’s all even less of a surprise when Landon wipes the slush off of his face and does nothing but blubber as the nameless hockey player laughs at him.

Landon huffs and glances at Hope for some kind of reassurance. She resists the urge to roll her eyes. At the beginning of the year, Landon had seemed like the best possible boyfriend in the world. Now, he’s just an awkward boy soaked in sugar and ice.

“You can’t do this.” Hope says, adding steel into her voice.

The hockey player - he’s got on one of those large, obnoxious Puck Head caps on - flinches at her tone. Good. At least she still has some sort of power at this school.

“I wasn’t aiming for you, Mikaelson.” He explains. “You’re not the one who joined Homo Explosion.”

The guy leaves without another word. Hope expects Landon to say something, but he isn’t the type to yell and he has too much pride to cry, so he’s perfectly silent as he disappears into the nearest boy’s bathroom. Hope shakes the ice off of the tips of her fingers, wondering if she should follow him in there or not.

She could get away with leaving him right now. It would be simple. Hope could tell people he got too unpopular for her - _he got gay_ \- and everyone would agree with a nod, and she could probably bait Sebastian into taking her to prom. The only thing wrong with her plan is that she knows in her gut if she leaves Landon now he’ll end up with Josie.

That just can’t happen.

Hope follows him into the bathroom without another thought. There’s a moment where she pauses at how odd it is to see a line of urinals, but thankfully no one else is in there except for Landon and Hope can get in while avoiding any awkwardness.

Landon is leaning over the sink, practically clawing at himself in a bad attempt to get the stuff out. This time Hope does roll her eyes, because she’s pretty sure no one can see her.

“You’re doing it wrong.” Hope tells him, coming up behind him slowly so it won’t startle him.

The memory of Josie washing out the slush from her eyes is surprisingly clear in Hope’s mind. She remembers how the girl had gone from top to bottom, slowly working her fingers through her dark hair. Josie always looked so calm about it, even though Hope could usually see the slushie dripping down into her pants.

Landon is less subtle about it all. It annoys Hope for no reason, she knows he’s doing nothing wrong. She must have anger issues.

“You can’t be in here.” Landon replies, voice watery from being under the faucet. “You’re a girl.”

“It’s fine.” Hope’s dad donated thousands of dollars to the school last year, so she’s pretty sure they won’t be punishing her too hard unless she kills someone on school grounds.

She copies Josie’s movements from her memory, gently scrubbing the sticky liquid out of Landon’s curls. It’s a lot harder than she thought it would be. The dye comes out of his hair but it stains the nape of his neck and her fingers an artificial blue. Hope wonders if Josie has ever had to wait until she gets home to properly wash the dye off her skin.

That must suck. Hope already feels the quiet humiliation leaking out of Landon, and she isn’t even the one who got slushied. Maybe that’s why Josie looks so sad most of the time. It would explain that constant pout on her mouth that bounces around Hope’s head like a tennis ball.

Landon sits up after a while, shaking his hair dry like a dog. Hope takes an immediate step back to protect her spotless Cheerios uniform.

“I told you not to join Glee Club.” She says randomly, focusing her attention on fetching him paper towels.

“I don’t get why everyone cares so much.” He frowns and accepts the clumps of towels Hope hands him. “It’s just a singing club. The kids there are cool. MG likes Ewoks and Lizzie totally watches Lord of the Rings, but she won’t admit it.”

It sickens Hope to hear about this little world Landon has outside of their relationship. She knows he’s allowed to have friends, but this feels odd somehow. Hope can’t help but imagine Landon kicking up his feet in the choir room at lunch, laughing with MG, Lizzie, and (of course) Josie.

“Because those kids are losers.” Hope tries to explain it gently, but she can feel the anger rising in her blood.

It always starts off with a bit of a tingle in the tips of her fingers and then she can feel the sudden warmth crawling up her neck. Next thing she knows, she’s yelling at the nearest person until all that’s left is her exhaustion.

Usually, that person is Josie.

Hope doesn’t know where the other girl is right now. It’s nearing third period, so maybe Spanish. She remembers bumping her shoulder into Josie’s around this time, outside the language classroom.

Landon balls the paper towels up in his hands. “They’re not losers. You know, sometimes I wish you would be more like Josie.”

“More like Josie?”

“She actually supports me.” He goes on, failing to notice how Hope’s hands have clenched into fists at her sides.

His words lay heavily between them, even as he goes on to throw away the paper and inspect his appearance as if what he said didn’t matter at all.

Hope doesn’t move a muscle. She can feel bile licking at the back of her teeth, threatening to spill out. Hope always knew she disliked Josie more than everyone else, but she didn’t think that all of her anger would lead her to feel like this. She wants to scream and hit Landon, and then scream some more.

Anything but stand here, feeling as if she’s being held underwater. The pressure in her head is stinging the backs of her eyes with hot tears and she’s so fucking furious, but mostly she’s horribly confused at how strong her emotions suddenly seem to be.

“I know some guys on the team cheat on their girlfriends.” Hope says, managing to keep her words clipped enough to seem relatively calm. “But don’t do it with her.”

Hope leaves before he can say another word, because she can sense the upcoming argument, and she isn’t in the mood to deal with that right now.

She needs to get it together and fast. It almost feels as if her and Landon won’t make it to homecoming at this rate, let alone prom. They’re supposed to get married, eventually. Hope expects Landon to get a decent job somewhere in town and Hope will stay with him until he finally proposes, and then high school sweethearts will turn into husband and wife.

That’s the plan and she needs to stick to it.

When she gets to study hall, she’s glad to see that Penelope and Maya are already there and saving her a seat at their usual table. They’re sitting closely together on one side while Hope’s empty chair stands across from them. It’s nice to be close to something as consistent and solid as their friendship.

“Hey.” Hope greets as she sits, noticing that they’re watching Netflix on Penelope’s phone instead of studying.

Hope is probably the only one who actually studies in study hall, but she has to. Keeping up all As is the only thing ensuring that her parents will let her go out on the weekends and attending parties keeps her status up.

“Why are your fingers blue?” Maya asks. “Did you get Jolly Ranchers from the vending machine?”

Maya seems a lot more interested in candy than the color of Hope’s fingers, which is good. She’s reluctant to admit what happened to Landon.

“No.” Hope replies simply, proceeding to get her books out of her bag.

As soon as Maya hears there’s no candy, she visibly deflates. A second later, Penelope is huffing to herself quietly and asking the teacher if she can use the bathroom.

Hope tries to focus on her homework, but she can’t get the last couple minutes off of her mind. She keeps thinking about how she had just left Landon in the bathroom and how soft his voice had sounded when he brought up Josie. Hope almost brings her fingers up to her mouth to fiddle with, but then she remembers how much sugar is stuck under her nails and stops herself.

Biting them is a bad habit, anyways. It’s also a soothing habit - one Hope won’t allow herself to really on, so her nerves build and build until she sets her pen down and stares ahead at Maya.

“I need to do something.” Hope blurts and Maya’s features scrunch together in confusion.

“Okay.” Maya nods. “What’s up?”

Hope knows it’s probably for the best that Penelope isn’t here, because Penelope will question and contradict her at every turn. Unlike Maya, who just nods along.

Hope leans in close so no one will hear her. “We need to join the Glee Club.”

This only makes Maya look even more confused. For a moment, Hope worries that Maya is going to ask questions about her plan. She doesn’t want to explain, partly because she doesn’t have all of the answers herself, but mostly because she knows that her motives are rooted in some kind of insecurity.

Insecurity doesn’t fit the future prom queen’s image.

“Okay. Sure.” Maya smiles and Hope can’t help but feel both grateful and envious of the girl that accepts things so easily. “I thought you hated it, but… I like singing. So does Penelope. Don’t tell her I told you.”

Hope nods and crosses her heart so Maya will know she really means her promise. This all feels surprisingly simple. Light. This must be why Penelope spends most of her time orbiting Maya.

Speaking of Penelope, the girl comes back from the ‘bathroom’ about thirty seconds later, with a mini packet of Jolly Ranchers. She tosses it to Maya without a word and fixes her eyes on the table as Maya goes to link their hands together.

Normally, Hope would say something about how they should stop before someone gets the wrong idea, but she keeps her mouth shut tight now. Angering Penelope will not take her down the right road, and right now she needs both of her friends' support to get through the audition.

“We’re joining Glee.” Maya announces, somewhat happily.

Penelope scoffs. “No we’re not.”

A beat of silence passes where Penelope looks at Hope, obviously waiting for Hope to correct Maya. Hope shrugs and Penelope’s lips part in surprise like she’s questioning Hope’s sanity.

“I can’t leave you two alone ever again.” Penelope grumbles, dropping her head into her empty hand as Maya giggles beside her.

—————

After a little persuasion and a reminder of the dance they used to do freshman year for church, Hope, Maya, and Penelope all end up standing in the choir room, in front of the (badly named) New Directions.

“Go right ahead, girls.” Mr. Saltzman says, just seeming excited at the prospect of new members.

Everyone in the actual club seems a million times less joyful about the three of them being here. Most of them are frowning, while Landon just looks confused, but Hope only cares about Josie. Josie’s face is worked into a neutral expression, her eyes devoid of any and all emotion. It’s annoying, how Josie seems completely unaffected by Hope being here.

Hope counts down with her fingers behind her back. As soon as her hand turns to a fist, they launch into their short, choreographed dance. Hope’s voice pops out the most while Penelope and Maya harmonize in the background.

She knows that they’re good at this. They work through the dance almost effortlessly, which is a challenge considering they haven’t done it in over a year. Their voices blend well together, even though they’re out of practice, but Hope is amazed at how easy it is to sink back into a performance.

Once they’re done, Hope can’t help but let her lips twitch up into a smile. That was surprisingly fun. Also, she guesses that they’re better than half of the people in here and getting in is no question.

“That was amazing.” Mr. Saltzman claps, confirming her suspicions. “You’re in.”

Lizzie suddenly gets up out of her seat and starts swinging her arms around dramatically, like the nut job she is.

“No way!” She yells, much too loud for the quiet room.

Hope rolls her eyes at Lizzie’s outburst. That girl has no subtlety whatsoever. Hope isn’t even going to reply, because she has the good sense to know that arguing in front of a teacher just gets you in trouble.

As predicted, Mr. Saltzman scolds her. “Lizzie, you’re being incredibly rude. They were great and we need members. Girls, you can sit down.”

The annoyed huff Lizzie gives as she plops back down in her seat is honestly very satisfying. Hope tries not to appear smug as she sits next to Landon while Penelope and Maya follow.

“I thought you hated Glee Club.” Landon whispers to her, looking so shocked one would think he actually got slapped.

“I’m your girlfriend.” Hope shrugs. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’s hoping that Josie is hearing all of this and deciding to finally back off. “You said you wanted me to support you. Here I am.”

After that, she tunes out his suspicious glances. Yeah, this plan might be stupid and totally out of left field, but at least now Hope knows she gets to keep an eye on Landon and Josie. The thought of them having alone time for the last month was slowly making her sick. This is a semi-perfect solution.

“You guys have actually given me a great idea.” Mr. Saltzman tells them, uncapping a marker and turning to write one word on the whiteboard.

Duets.

“Each of you need to choose a singing partner and figure out a song to sing together.” His hands move frantically with gestures as he explains. “Now, I know what you’re thinking, and no - you can’t just make the obvious choice for a partner. I’m going to pair you up.”

A collective groan runs through the group. People had already been leaning towards their preferred partners. Hope has Landon’s hand in hers, but now she feels her stomach sink as she thinks of what weirdo she’s going to be paired up with.

Mr. Saltzman begins to put people together randomly. Landon goes with some kid in a wheelchair, Lizzie is paired with Penelope, Maya with her brother Ethan (which is awkward for everyone, because most people forget they’re actually step-siblings), and MG with Josie.

“Wait.” Mr. Saltzman says, breaking MG and Josie apart. “That leaves Hope alone. Plus, it’s too easy. MG, why don’t you duet with me?”

Josie and MG share a glance that Hope doesn’t particularly enjoy seeing. It looks as if being paired with Hope brings Josie actual physical pain.

“Fine.” Josie grumbles and sits down next to Hope, not bothering to look at her as she does.

Hope can’t bring herself to say anything either, because all she’s thinking is that when he told her and Josie to pair up, it felt like just another inevitably.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I highkey recommend listening to the songs mentioned. They’re gonna be in a playlist for this fic later

After two minutes of neither of them saying anything, Josie watches as Hope finally huffs and turns to face her. She can feel the slight air from Hope’s exhale and feel the barely-there press of warmth when their knees accidentally knock together. It takes all Josie has not to fall out of her chair at the unexpected contact. Part of her is still convinced this is a nightmare or a very weird wet dream.

Either way, she has no idea why it’s happening. If her subconscious dreamt it up, then Josie must have accidentally inhaled some sort of drug earlier. If Hope is really next to her, in Glee Club, then maybe Hope is the one who’s drugged.

“So…” Hope begins, seeming composed even in the face of awkwardness.

“Are you drugged?” Josie interrupts abruptly. “I heard about a guy who put weed in his school’s air vents once, but that would mean we’re all high, too. Which makes sense. Though it’s not very plausible.”

Hope’s expression is unreadable for a moment. Her stare, as always, seems to last forever and Josie can’t help but redden under Hope’s careful eye. Eventually, an amused smile crawls across Hope’s mouth, though it doesn’t seem entirely friendly.

“I don’t do drugs. I can’t be high if there’s a surprise Cheerios practice.” Hope explains, leaning over to dig in her bag for something. She says it as if the possibility of impromptu cheerleading practices plague her life.

Josie watches Hope get a notebook out of her bag. She thinks that she may still be in shock. Or having a mini heart attack. Her mind just got off the fact that Hope is now in Glee Club, and it’s currently barreling towards the thought that Hope is actually speaking to her like a normal person.

Once the notebook is open and laying in her lap, Hope looks Josie up and down with a cocked eyebrow. “I was kidding about the brain damage earlier, Josie. Now you’re just freaking me out.”

“You…” Josie blinks dumbly, feeling a lot like Landon. “You called me Josie.”

Hope seems to stiffen at that, her back straightening as she focuses on taking a pen out. She glances at Josie three times (Josie counts) while doing it, and the third glance is decidedly less kind than the others.

“Fine, _Saltzman_.” Hope says icily, though it isn’t an insult. “Can you pull yourself together for five seconds? We have to choose a song.”

“Sorry. I’m just not used to you being nice.” Josie admits sheepishly, realizing how weird she’s been acting.

Hope is back to full on glaring at her. “I can be nice.”

“Not to me.”

Another pregnant pause comes after that, with Josie staring and Hope ignoring her again. Hope begins writing some things down without paying any mind to Josie. Her jaw is set tight, the straight line of it pale and horribly attractive. Josie finds herself watching Hope swallow, thinking silently to herself that Hope somehow performs normal bodily functions like she’s putting on a show.

She tentatively leans closer to Hope, trying to get a better view of whatever is on the page. Josie can just barely make out Hope’s writing from where she’s sitting (they’re right next to each other, but very obviously trying to put as much space as possible between them).

Josie hesitates before scooting a tiny bit closer. Their forearms brush and Josie can feel how tense Hope is all over, but she doesn’t know how to offer any comfort. Josie is going to move away, but Hope seems to relax a little and offer up the notebook to Josie.

The page is numbered one through three, with three different duet suggestions. All of them are obviously from church - which is fine, Josie really has no problem with religion. It’s just a little ironic, looking at the songs and then looking at Hope, because Hope suddenly appears so innocent.

Hope is everything but innocent. _Vicious_ , would be closer to the truth.

“We can’t do any of these.” Josie tells her gently. She pictures them singing one of these songs and has to fight laughter, because MG and Lizzie would tease her relentlessly after the very first verse.

“Why not?” Hope tilts her head cluelessly.

Her eyes are a lot less scary when she isn’t glaring and her skin looks incredibly soft when that crease that comes with frowning isn’t there. Josie thinks that Hope is actually very cute.

“Well.” This time, Josie can’t help it - she smiles. “I’m not a nun. Can’t we do something that’s not from church?”

“I’m not doing a Tegan and Sara song.” Hope replies, totally serious.

Josie presses two fingers to her mouth to keep herself from laughing. Hope seems completely invested in the thought that Josie is going to make them perform some sort of lesbian anthem, complete with pride flags and all.

Hope starts to look put off by Josie’s laughter, so Josie quickly pulls herself together. Hope is being decent and Josie doesn’t want to ruin that.

“Okay.” Josie nods. “Have you seen Wicked?”

“I said no lesbians.” Hope responds immediately, seeming exasperated with Josie already.

“There’s no lesbians in-“

“Elphaba and Glinda might as well have humped each other on stage.” Hope cuts her off, waving her hand as if this is common knowledge. Josie’s mouth actually falls open in surprise. “What Is This Feeling was clearly a gay song.”

Air wafts into Josie’s mouth, making it feel dry. Only then does she snap it shut, but she’s still shocked. She can’t believe that Hope Mikaelson is currently lecturing her on lesbian subtext from a Broadway musical.

When Hope is done, she faces Josie expectantly. Hope is all raised eyebrows, glares, and surprises. Josie doesn’t know how Hope can pack all of that into such a tiny little body, but somehow she manages to.

“It’s my favorite musical.” Josie offers up lamely and Hope rolls her eyes.

“Of course it is, homo.”

The bell rings and as they all start to get up, Hope seems to go back to her same bitchy self. It’s something about her posture - too straight and forced. Josie notices it instantly and steps away, giving herself some space so she hopefully won’t get caught up in Hope’s anger.

It’s a futile attempt, of course. Josie is always Hope’s main target. Even as Landon starts to approach them, all Hope cares about seems to be Josie.

“Since you spent all of your time staring and yapping, we’ll have to pick the duet some other time.” Hope explains, watching Josie until she nods. “You’re coming to my house.”

It’s not a question, so Josie doesn’t protest. She just nods again as Hope writes down her address on a piece of paper and tears it out for her. Josie reads the words and letters about ten times in those few seconds where Hope is watching her. She can’t believe that Hope is casually inviting her to come over to her house.

“After school?” Hope asks.

Since it’s a school night, Josie doesn’t really have anything going on except her work, and this technically counts as homework.

“Sure.” Josie nods for a third time and Hope squints at her, looking as if she might say something else.

All of their weird staring ends as soon as Landon comes up behind Hope and wraps his arms around her waist. He picks her up and spins her through the air. Hope gasps in surprise but then giggles like a schoolgirl, the noise bright and joyful.

Josie looks away, feeling nauseous.

“Let’s go, Josie.” Lizzie says, linking their arms together and dragging Josie away. “I can’t believe dad paired you up with Mother Teresa’s evil daughter.”

Josie tries to smile at Lizzie’s dramatic insult, but Hope’s laughter is still ringing in her ears and the grin doesn’t quite meet her eyes. She clutches the ripped paper in her hand tighter as Lizzie hauls her away.

“I have to go to her house later.” Josie tells her and Lizzie makes an outraged sound.

“You’ll be killed.” Lizzie whines, as they turn down the hall and go to the next class (which they share).

“Hey.” Josie complains, frowning. “I’ve handled Hope for years. I won’t die.”

They enter the classroom with their arms still linked. Lizzie looks so appalled that Josie is slightly offended. She’s a big girl - she can sort of protect herself from Hope’s wrath, most days.

“You’re not just dealing with Hope. It’s the whole Mikaelson family this time.” Lizzie explains and Josie feels a heavy stone roll through her stomach.

She’s seen the Mikaelsons a hundred times. Hope at school, Hayley in the grocery store, and Klaus getting coffee in town in the mornings. Each time has been more terrifying than the next. Hope’s parents aren’t particularly rude to her or anyone for no reason, but they all radiate the same intimidating energy that Hope carries around so easily.

“Fuck.” Josie breathes, remembering the time she had spotted Klaus out and about and had actively crossed the street to avoid saying hello.

Lizzie takes a seat. “Fuck is right.”

—————

Hope doesn’t say anything to her for the rest of the day, so it’s admittedly a little jarring when she’s clearly waiting for Josie in the parking lot after school. Josie and Lizzie stop walking as soon as they spot Hope, leaning against her car with a bored look like she’s been waiting for hours (the bell just rang four minutes ago).

“Get in.” Hope orders and then disappears into the drivers side without another word.

Josie and Lizzie exchange an anxious glance until Lizzie throws her arm around Josie and hugs her much too tightly.

“I’m planning you a lovely funeral.” Lizzie whispers, squeezing once more before taking off in the other direction.

“That isn’t comforting at all.” Josie says to no one, because she’s been quickly abandoned. She’s still staring after Lizzie’s retreating form when a loud noise comes from behind her and she spins around in alarm.

Hope had the audacity to honk at her.

Josie reluctantly gets in the car, pulling her backpack between her knees. She feels as if she should keep her stuff close to her, in case she has to make a quick run for it. If Hope was going to actually kill her, this would be a pretty good start.

They leave the parking lot in complete silence. Thankfully, Hope is focused on driving (Josie had the sneaking suspicion that Hope would have horrible road rage), so Josie can steal glances at Hope while they sit in the car. Josie is trying to figure out what a murderer would look like. Hope is smaller than her and appears harmless, but all the best killers seemed charming at first, so-

“Do you want to listen to the radio?” Hope asks at a red light, gesturing to the vehicle’s controls with her free hand.

Josie peers at Hope uncertainly. “Are we going to have to listen to Jesus Is Our Father or-“

Hope cuts her off by flipping on the radio. Josie is pleasantly surprised when something from this century starts to play. It’s a simple pop song, but it feels as if it’s going to be the thing that saves her life. It was beginning to get so awkward that Josie thought she might just burst.

“You know, not everything I listen to is about God. I have other interests.” Hope says, not unkindly. There’s still a bit of a bite to her tone, but Josie doesn’t think she’s getting violently shoved out of the car anytime soon.

“Well, sorry.” Josie replies, feeling uncomfortable about having a somewhat nice conversation. “I have other interests outside of being gay, you know.”

The song changes to something else, something softer and calming. Josie thinks it’s Fleetwood Mac. She knows her dad likes them, but she’s surprised when Hope starts to quietly hum along under her breath. Josie studies Hope out of the corner of her eye, noticing how Hope seems to twist in her seat just slightly, like she’s thinking something over.

“Are you?” Hope asks eventually.

Josie’s face pinches in confusion. “Am I what?”

Hope’s knuckles go white on the wheel, her shoulders locking up in obvious tension. Josie turns to look at her fully now, deciding that she probably wasn’t being very subtle in the first place.

“Are you gay?” Hope puts the words out like they physically pain her.

For a moment, Josie thinks that Hope is setting up some sort of cruel joke, but Hope seems completely serious. So, Josie treats the question seriously. She thinks it over and no - she’s not gay. She’s not straight either. If Hope were a different person, Josie might explain that sexuality is a spectrum and it’s taken her years to figure out where she lands on it, but this is Hope.

“No.” Josie replies simply. Hope makes a noise like she doesn’t entirely believe her, but Josie doesn’t care.

Besides, they’re stopping in front of a house now and Josie assumes that it’s Hope’s. It’s nice and a little larger than Josie’s, but overall it looks average. There’s a garden, a porch, and a white picket fence. It’s everything Josie expected and not, because the house seems so simple but Hope is definitely not.

Hope gets out of the car without a word and Josie scrambles after her, pulling her bag up onto her shoulder in one hazardous movement. She only has to take a few long strides to catch up with Hope, reminding Josie again of just how small Hope is.

When they reach the front door, Hope pauses with her hand on the doorknob. “Don’t say much.”

The door is opened before Josie can question that command. Josie is just trying to get a look at the first room they step into, but Hope grabs Josie’s wrist and starts dragging her through the house before she can really get a sense of the decor. They end up upstairs in seconds. Josie sputters as Hope shoves her into her bedroom like Josie is the world’s biggest secret.

All that Josie can remember about the house is that she saw several crosses hanging up on the doorways, possibly a cat crawling around, and heard the sound of someone cooking in the kitchen.

“Are your parents here?” Josie asks, watching as Hope shuts the door. She really feels as if she’ll be murdered now, with how Hope was quick to avoid witnesses.

Hope drops her bag by her feet. “Yes.”

Josie wants to ask if she can meet them (it seems polite to do so), but Hope gives her this look that makes Josie’s question die in her mouth. It’s fine. She doesn’t know she would go about speaking to the Mikaelsons anyways, since she already has trouble with Hope.

“So…” Josie says awkwardly, looking around Hope’s room. She has no idea what else to do.

Hope’s bedroom looks like something out of a cheesy teen movie. There are pictures on the wall of her and Landon or the Cheerios, but none with her and her family. The bedsheets and walls are a pale pink, the carpet white as snow. Every little thing is set perfectly in place, except for a notebook on the dresser with three different colored pencils on top of it.

“You draw?” Josie asks, trying to keep the question as light as possible.

There’s no easy way of explaining that Josie knows Hope draws. She’s almost certain that Hope drew that picture of her in the bathroom and the one that Sebastian threw at her and Lizzie. Bringing up either of those drawings seems like a very bad idea, considering one was defaced and Josie was completely naked in the other one.

“Yes.” Hope replies again.

They look at each other for a moment, neither one of them seeming to know what to do. They do a lot of staring these days.

“Can you say anything other than ‘yes’?” Josie questions.

“Yes.” Hope replies, but it seems sort of playful. She finally moves, walking over to the dresser and stopping to gently push Josie on the bed as she goes.

Josie squeaks quietly at being shoved, but lands on the edge of the bed relatively safely. She tries to make herself comfortable, though she’s afraid of messing up Hope’s sheets. After a moment of uncertainty, Josie rests back on her palms and watches Hope.

Hope, who is currently taking off her top.

Josie squeaks loudly now, not having expected to look over and see Hope undressing. She twists around to face the wall, already feeling a blush run hot up across her face. Josie digs her fingers into her knees, trying to think about anything other than the glimpse she got of Hope’s bare, muscled back.

“This is nice wallpaper.” Josie blurts dumbly. She turns even redder as Hope laughs at her.

“You’re such a weirdo, Saltzman.”

She wishes she had a comeback for that, but she doesn’t. Honestly, her brain has sort of just gone to mush. Hope is admittedly the most attractive girl Josie has ever seen in person and, while she tries not to be attracted to her biggest bully, she still has hormones.

God, she feels like a teenage boy.

“So, uh.” Josie stammers, still not looking at Hope. “What song do you want to sing?”

“I don’t know.” The weight shifts on the bed and Josie slowly turns, assuming that Hope is fully clothed if she’s sitting next to her.

Thankfully, Hope has put on a tank top and a pair of black shorts. Josie doesn’t think she’s ever seen Hope out of her skimpy Cheerios uniform, but this somehow seems a lot more revealing. The tank top shows off all of the muscle in Hope’s arms and the sharp lines of her collarbones, and the shorts do nothing to hide her thighs.

Once again, Josie has to focus on the wallpaper to keep from staring. She will not give Hope the satisfaction of catching Josie checking her out.

“We could look up some duets.” Josie suggests. She has ideas for a couple that she thinks would fit their vocal ranges, but all of them seem sort of gay.

Hope already swore off anything from Wicked and Josie’s next favorite musical is Rent, so that’s not going to work (though she does sort of want to do Take Me Or Leave Me with Hope). She doesn’t really know any other good duets that aren’t from Broadway.

“Fine.” Hope shrugs and stands up to go get her laptop.

Josie relaxes a little. Maybe she’ll actually manage to get through this without getting murdered.


	11. Chapter 11

“Anything You Can Do.” Josie says. She thinks that’s her thirtieth suggestion, but she isn’t completely sure since she’s spent the last two hours getting her ideas shot down.

Josie is currently sprawled out on Hope Mikaelson’s floor (a fact that she will possibly never get over), listing every duet that comes to mind while she stares up at the ceiling. She’s stopped mentioning songs she actually likes at this point. Everything Josie likes Hope doesn’t, and vice versa.

She’s prepped and ready to hear Hope’s dismissal of the song, but nothing comes except for the sound of Hope typing. Josie sits up, stretching her arms far into the air, and watching Hope look at something on her laptop.

“I’ve never heard it.” Hope says, by way of explanation.

A couple clicks later and the first few lyrics are filling the room. Hope smiles (actually smiles, in that genuine way that comes with a bit of teeth) as the man and woman begin competing with each other through song. The lyrics make them sound like children having a petty argument. It’s so very high school - it’s so very _them_.

“This works.” Hope agrees once the song is done, seeming amused with Josie’s suggestion. “I’ll do the girl’s part.”

“Okay.” Josie is just glad that they decided on something.

Hope stands, setting her laptop aside. “I’m going to use the bathroom.”

The door closes behind Hope and Josie continues to sit on the floor, finally exhaling now that the room is empty. Hope’s presence is sort of suffocating - but _no_ , that’s not the right word. It’s overwhelming and unforgettable. Most of the time it almost feels as if Hope is constantly staring at her.

Josie forces herself to get up and stretch her legs. They’re tense and a bit numb from all of the sitting, so it takes her a second to work the feeling back into them. She’s in the middle of rubbing some of the soreness out of her calves when the door opens. Josie instinctively rips her hand away from herself, expecting to see Hope.

“Hope, honey-“ Instead, Mrs. Mikaelson stands in the doorway with a confused expression on her face.

Remembering how Hope had rushed her in here with no introductions, Josie panics. She worries that Hope’s mom is going to assume that she’s an intruder or something.

“Oh I- I’m Hope’s friend.” Josie chokes out, cringing when the words seem to come out like lies (because they are). “Sorry for not saying hello, Mrs. Mikaelson. Hope and I were busy with a project.”

Mrs. Mikaelson inspects Josie for a moment before waving her off. “It’s okay, Hope is forgetful sometimes. And call me Hayley, please. Would you like to join us for dinner?”

Josie blanks, not knowing what to say. Her stomach perks up at the mention of food (it doesn’t help that she can smell the meal wafting into the room now that the door is open) and refusing seems kind of rude, but the thought of joining the Mikaelson family for dinner sounds dangerous. She still hasn’t come up with an answer when her stomach growls quite obviously and Josie pinks in embarrassment.

“Sure.” Josie replies, giving a shy nod. “Thank you, Mrs- uh, Hayley.”

Hayley smiles kindly and pushes the door open farther, as if to beckon Josie out into the hall. Josie follows the silent command. She can’t help but feel a little on edge. Hope treats her so horribly sometimes that Josie had begun to imagine Hope’s parents as nothing but vultures, but Hayley seems nice enough.

They stand in the hall for a beat, both of them clearly a bit unsure of what to say. Usually when Josie interacts with her friend’s (she uses the term loosely with Hope) parent, she has that friend with her.

“Mom?” Hope appears from out of the bathroom down the hall and joins them. She looks between Josie and Hayley like them having an interaction is as surprising and terrible as witnessing an execution. “What are you doing talking to Josie?”

If it comes across as rude, Josie doesn’t notice. She’s used to that tone coming from Hope’s mouth. Hayley clearly isn’t and slaps her daughter’s arm with a frown.

“Don’t be rude. I invited your friend to dinner.” She explains and Hope’s face twists into something that Josie can’t read.

Disgust? Fear? Anger?

Josie doesn’t get much time to stare, because Hayley turns to walk down the hall and she feels obligated to follow. After a second, Josie hears Hope’s quiet footsteps coming up behind her.

“Is dad home?” Hope questions as they go down the stairs. Josie is glad she asks, because she wants to know what she’s getting into.

“Yeah.” Hayley responds.

They reach the bottom step and Josie hesitates before forcing herself to join Hayley and Hope in the kitchen. The food is already cooked, the whole room warm with steam and the sweet smell of cooked vegetables and meat. Hope hums and goes for some corn on the cob without a second thought, but Hayley glares and Hope withers under her mother’s harsh eye.

Well, _that’s_ where Hope gets her killer glare from.

“Go show Josie where the dining room is and don’t forget to set out the silverware.” Hayley instructs, causing Hope to roll her eyes and disappear into another room.

Josie follows after her nervously, stumbling into a very clean, fancy room with a long table stretched in the center of it. There are nothing but plates set out on the table, so Hope is quick about fetching the silverware out of the drawers. For once, Hope’s presence fades out of Josie’s mind, because Klaus Mikaelson is sitting at the head of the table.

“Hope, I wasn’t aware we were having guests.” Klaus says, quirking his eyebrows up (another gesture Hope inherited from her parents) at Hope expectantly.

Hope pauses, four sets of forks and knives in her hands, before she sighs. “Dad, this is my friend Josie.”

It sounds incredibly odd for Hope and Josie to refer to each other as friends, but the alternative is explaining their long, confusing history to Hope’s parents - which sounds close to hell.

“Come sit, Josie.” Klaus pushes out a chair for her politely and Josie sits down, feeling her stomach jump with nerves.

They sit silently for an uncomfortable minute, until Hope gets done with the silverware and Hayley finally comes in with all of the food. Everything is fitted into large bowls, so they can pick from it as they please. Josie keeps her hands in her lap, glancing at Hope for some sort of support and then mentally scolding herself for trying to find comfort in a bully.

Eventually, Klaus holds Hayley’s hand and Hayley reaches out to grab Hope’s, and Josie sits there dumbstruck for a moment. She hasn’t prayed in - well, she hasn’t really done it ever. Josie has been to church a few times, but she had been young enough that she simply stared at the floor and thought of puppies while everyone prayed around her.

Hope must sense Josie’s confusion over saying grace, because she snatches up Josie’s hand before it can get too awkward. Josie reluctantly links her other hand with Klaus’ and shuts her eyes as Hayley launches into a quick prayer.

All Josie can see is the black behind her eyelids. She has her eyes squeezed tight, because part of her is hoping that when she opens them this will all be a dream. Of course, it isn’t a dream. Josie can feel the rough, unfamiliar skin of Klaus’ hand and the smooth feel of Hope’s palm. It’s almost pleasant to hold Hope’s hand. Maybe Josie could enjoy it, if Hope wasn’t gripping her so lightly that it seems as if she’s trying to avoid all contact with Josie.

It just reminds Josie that Hope is disgusted with her. She’s the one with the sloppy joe body. The _homo_ who Hope unfortunately got stuck with. This isn’t a form of affection, it’s practically mandatory.

When it ends and they all focus on using their hands for food, Josie releases a relieved breath. She was beginning to feel sick.

“So.” Klaus says, once he’s done with a few bites of his food. “How did you and Hope meet? I didn’t know Hope had any other friends.”

“You’re making me sound unpopular, dad.” Hope chimes in and he rolls his eyes.

“You only ever have Penelope or Maya over.”

Hope shrugs bashfully and picks at her food, ending that little conversation. Josie can’t help but pick up on the fact that Klaus didn’t mention Landon. Her mind floods with irrational relief at the thought that Landon doesn’t spend a lot of time alone with Hope.

“We met…” Josie pauses, thinking back. They had met in freshman year, during Orientation Day. They’d been placed in the same little group and Hope had stared intensely at Josie from across that mini circle for a long time before calling her outfit ugly in passing. “In biology. I borrowed Hope’s notes.”

Klaus nods and accepts that information easily. Josie allows her shoulders to sag a bit as the attention shifts off of her and Hayley begins to ask him about work.

Over the course of the next thirty minutes, Josie gets a chance to observe multiple things about the Mikaelson family.

For instance, Hayley speaks with the same even tone for all of dinner. It never raises or lowers, though she mostly communicates with little hums that get swallowed by the wine glass at her lips. Klaus dominates the conversation with a story about what went on at church that day and the occasional question to one of them. Hope is uncharacteristically quiet, but the one thing that stays the same is her near-constant staring at Josie.

Josie can feel it all along her side for most of the meal, so she’s happy when she finally clears the last of the carrots and chicken off of her plate and can find an excuse to leave.

“You should bring Josie over more.” Hayley says unexpectedly, making Josie smile. “She’s very polite.”

“Thank you.” Josie replies and Hayley tilts her glass towards Josie, as if to confirm her point.

Klaus nods seriously. “You need better friends.”

Josie nearly chokes on air. While he says it politely, it’s incredibly rude and unexpected. Josie has the urge to reach out and comfort Hope, but they aren’t close enough for that (emotionally, not physically, because physically Hope is right beside her).

“Dad.” Hope begins, but Klaus waves her off and Hope’s words die abruptly.

“I’m just saying. Maya is not the brightest and Penelope seems… off.” Klaus explains, reaching for his glass to sip his water in thought. Josie looks over and catches the clear, panicked blush on Hope’s face. “You know what happened with Freya.”

“ _Dad_.” Hope repeats, with much more force this time.

The air is tense for a moment. Distantly, Josie recognizes Hayley telling them both to calm down because they have a guest. No one really seems to pay attention to Hayley except for Josie, who watches Hayley glance worriedly at her family before leaning forward to grab the wine bottle again.

“Who’s Freya?” Josie can’t help but ask. She’s naturally curious and she hates it, because Hope looks about ready to decapitate her and lay her head down on a dinner plate.

Klaus presses his lips into a thin line, seeming to think over his next words. “A relative. She’s dead.”

“She’s _not_ dead.” Hope cuts in immediately, her voice much too loud for the room. She pushes away from the table and gets up out of her chair, clearly outraged.

As Hope leaves and marches up the stairs (Josie can hear the hard, angry thump of her footsteps even from another room), Josie frowns at how quickly things went downhill. She wishes that she had never asked about Freya - whoever that is - in the first place.

“You should join us for dinner again.” Hayley offers, clearly a little wine-drunk.

Josie nods and smiles, but she knows there’s no way in hell that’s happening.

—————

Later, when Josie has made a (relatively) safe escape from the Mikaelson house and is sitting in the uncomfortable silence that fills Hope’s car, she can’t help but let her mind drift to Freya. Klaus had mentioned she was a relative, so Josie is imagining the same fiery eyes and expressive eyebrows all of the Mikaelsons seem to possess.

Curiosity is building thick in her head, stacking blocks of questions up to make one unstable building in the middle of her brain. She keeps on glancing at Hope, half-wishing that the courage to ask Hope about it will come to her.

“Hey.” Hope breaks the silence unexpectedly, after several long minutes of awkwardness. They’re already on Josie’s street. “Can you… not mention this to anyone?”

Josie looks at Hope for a moment. Really looks at her, tracing the lines of her face and the nervous facial expression Hope is wearing. A laugh bubbles up out of her mouth before she can stop it, because the idea of Hope asking for a favor and looking nervous about it at the same time is comical.

Maybe this actually is a dream. If it were real life, Hope would be prying that favor out of Josie’s hands with several vicious threats.

Hope bristles, frowning. “Don’t laugh at me.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Josie says quickly, putting her hand over her mouth to stop her laughter as soon as Hope glares at her. “It’s just… you don’t need me for anything. Who would I tell? _What_ would I tell? I’m polite and you have anger issues. Everybody already knows.”

“I don’t have anger issues.” Hope snaps.

Josie looks at her with wide eyes for a second, imagining what it would be like if Hope suddenly grew claws and fangs to eat her with. She feels as if she might actually be on drugs, because a chuckle slips out of her mouth. Hope huffs, her anger dissipating into something more pouty, and Josie bites her tongue to keep from laughing again.

Hope stops the car in front of Josie’s house and crosses her arms across her stomach, vaguely resembling a child about to throw a tantrum. Sometimes, Hope is so cute. Josie’s humor disappears as she notices what she just said.

She presses her teeth into her tongue a bit harder now, punishing herself for her own thoughts. “Fine. I won’t tell, if-“

“You’re pushing it.” Hope grumbles, scowling.

“ _If_ you do something for me.” Josie continues anyways, somehow less scared of Hope now that she’s seen her childish pout. “I want you to say something nice. One thing.”

Hope’s eyebrows raise in surprise and she cocks her head to the right, mulling over the offer. Josie fiddles with her fingers, staring down at her hands. It’s pathetic, but she wants to graduate knowing that Hope Mikaelson liked at least one small detail about her.

“Your neck would be nice to choke.” Hope tells her after a moment and Josie rolls her eyes, ignoring how the sentence makes her flush.

“A real compliment.”

The car is quiet for longer than Josie would like. She thinks about opening the door and just leaving. The fact that Hope can’t think of a single thing to say is borderline humiliating and Josie is honestly exhausted after the events of the night. Going inside to do the last of her homework and then falling asleep would be amazing right now, especially since Hope doesn’t seem to be planning on saying anything.

Josie sighs sadly and pushes open the car door. She only gets one foot set out on the street.

“Your...” Hope blubbers for a moment. “Your mouth isn’t terrible.”

It’s a shocker, because most of Hope’s jokes are mouth-centered. Josie thought for sure she was either going to get some lame ‘you’re nice’ comment or no compliment at all. Instead, she’s been pleasantly surprised. She bites her bottom lip, trying not to smile too hard.

“Thank you.” Josie replies and finishes getting out of the car, shutting the door behind her as soon as she’s outside.

The car window is still open. Josie lingers by it nervously, bouncing on her heels as she thinks something over. She leans down a second later, letting her face hover right by the window.

“Your eyes are pretty.” Josie whispers, almost shyly. She turns around and walks up to her house without another word, but not before memorizing the shell-shocked look on Hope’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any theories on Freya?


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a playlist for this fic. It has all the songs mentioned (I’ll be adding to it as it goes on) and some songs that just fit the theme of the fic. Here’s the link: 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3nj4UeKx0kqiUSW1wGW9Ua?si=-GbPvoahRaq3qS-yY194DQ

The next time they have a Glee Club meeting (in the auditorium again, because Alaric has grown oddly addicted to the stage lights), there is no sign that dinner with the Mikaelsons even happened. Josie spots Hope on her way to the meeting and Hope looks beautifully composed, as usual. At least she does until they actually meet in the doorway of the auditorium, and Josie almost bruises her chin running into Hope.

“Shit.” Josie hisses, rubbing her face in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

She expects an insult or a glare sharp enough to make her wince, but Hope appears only mildly annoyed and mostly amused with the incident. Hope doesn’t even say anything. She looks up at Josie through those thick eyelashes of hers and smirks so obviously that Josie burns everywhere.

Before Josie gets a chance to think too hard about it, there’s pressure on her back and both Hope and Josie are being forcibly pushed into the auditorium by Penelope, who is performing the biggest eye roll ever.

“You two are ridiculous.” Penelope huffs, dropping her hands from their backs to link pinkies with Maya. “Also, who the flying fuck are they?”

Josie had been too busy ogling - she can’t think of a better word - Hope to notice that there were strangers on the stage. She feels stupid for not seeing them earlier, because they’re wearing deep blue jackets and standing taller than any of the New Directions ever could.

Speaking of the New Directions, the rest of the club starts to file in behind the girls and react similarly to the strangers. Josie has no idea what’s going on, but she has this growing sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. For one thing, they really can’t get through a single meeting without some sort of surprise or drama, and for the other, her dad isn’t here yet so these can’t be new kids who auditioned.

Her dad stumbles in less than a minute later, clutching a coffee cup. “Sorry, I’m late. Uh- are those new recruits?”

They approach the stage all as one group, hesitantly coming to stand together in front of the intruders. Josie inspects them carefully, noting their matching uniforms and allowing her eyes to linger on the blonde that stands front and center. She’s drawn in bold - all sharp features and hard eyes.

Josie might have a type.

“Anymore Glee drama and I’m going to burst a blood vessel.” Lizzie mutters and Josie nods, silently agreeing.

“Who are you?” Alaric asks. “Did I book the wrong times for the auditorium or…”

When Alaric trails off, obviously confused, the blonde girl claps her hands together in a dismissive way that just screams Cheerio. Josie glances between the unknown blonde and the cheerleaders Josie actually knows, watching how Penelope, Maya, and Hope bristle at someone else being in charge.

“We’re Vocal Adrenaline, the reigning Nationals champions for three years in a row. We heard about your little club and wanted to respectfully introduce you to the competition.” The girl says, though nothing about her words seem respectful. They’re clipped and clearly fake, a tone of voice Josie is very familiar with after years of bullying.

Her suspicions are confirmed seconds later, when the girl steps back to fall into formation with the rest of Vocal Adrenaline and the opening notes of Another One Bites the Dust fill the auditorium. All of their shoulders raise in unison and they move on the beat together, like dancing robots.

Everything they do has obviously been practiced a thousand times over. There’s no mistaking them as a team. When they move they’re so in sync that it seems as if they all share one heart. Josie knows that they’re phenomenal right off the bat, but she still isn’t inspecting it when they all simultaneously do a collective backflip.

“We’re so fucked.” Josie whispers under her breath, after watching just a minute of their performance.

When they’re finally done, the blonde girl inhales and exhales twice before her breathing evens out completely (she obviously has incredible breath control - and, again, they’re so fucked). The girl smirks, visibly pleased with the New Directions’ gaping mouths and shocked expressions, and bows so low that she can make eye contact with Josie from the stage.

“I’m Jade St. James, by the way.” She winks very clearly at Josie and then stands back up to her full height. “Thanks for letting us use your auditorium. It’s… quaint.”

They’re gone in a flash, leaving Josie and the rest of the club in stunned silence. No one says anything. All they do is stand there, eyes on the empty stage, listening to the sound of their competitors ( _so fucked_ ) leaving.

“Well.” Hope says. “I hate her.”

Everyone nods in agreement, not in the mood for words. If the New Directions were ants, then Vocal Adrenaline would be giant flying wolves with incredibly sharp fangs.

“God, are all gay people this dramatic? Close your mouths. Her dad is a dick, of course he passed that on.” Penelope comments, which catches everyone’s attention.

Ignoring the gay comment, Josie whips her head in Penelope’s direction. “You know her dad?”

Penelope looks confused for a moment. Actually, all the Cheerios do (though Maya does seem to live in a permanent stage of confusion anyways). Josie raises her eyebrows at Hope, who shrugs silently and then looks away, almost as if she forgot not to interact with Josie.

“Oh, right. I forgot you guys don’t talk to anyone outside of these walls.” Penelope rolls her eyes as if their mere presence is exasperating. “Jesse St. James - that little bitch’s dad - is, like, the most famous choreographer in the world. He helped us with a Cheerios number once and made everyone puke. Even Hope.”

“Shut up.” Hope grumbles, but doesn’t argue against any of Penelope’s claims. She actually appears mildly worried about this whole thing, which scares Josie more than anything.

Hope never looks worried about anything ever. Somehow, seeing Hope’s composure slip over this sends Josie into panic mode. She feels as if she might hyperventilate and start yelling at people. They just got the club banded together and now everyone has this look on their face like they’ve been slapped hard across the face with a firm, wet fish.

“Guys, we can’t let ourselves get down about this.” Alaric finally speaks up. “We can beat Vocal Adrenaline. What do they have that we don’t?”

“Sex appeal.” Penelope says immediately.

“Money.”

“More members.”

“Practice.”

All of them chime in. The facial expressions in the room are still caught between sadness and disbelief, except for Landon, who looks constipated - but like, a cute kind of constipated.

“Okay, we can get all of that. Let’s start with practice first. Landon? Rafael? You guys said you already worked out your duet.” Alaric gestures to the stage and after a moment, Landon and Rafael climb up on it.

Josie can’t help but smile at how her dad is starting to handle the club. He’s gotten pretty good at reading their moods and knowing when to distract them and when to dwell on things. Right now, a distraction is just the thing they need, and Landon and Rafael certainly give it to them.

(Josie is more than surprised when Blue, from Heathers the Musical, turns out to be a song almost entirely about testicles.)

—————

When one of the football boys rounds the corner with an uncapped Big Gulp cup, Josie instinctively cowers closer to her locker. She squeezes her eyes shut and tries to shield herself with the locker door, completely prepared for a slushie facial that never comes.

The football player walks past her, his eyes set down the hall. Kaleb is the only other possible target Josie sees, since the hallway is basically empty. The jacket Kaleb has on looks expensive (Josie wouldn’t really know, but it’s definitely nicer than anything she owns), and with that thought in mind, Josie races down the hall.

She gets there at the right (wrong) time to take yet another slushie to the face, but this time in Kaleb’s place.

“Freaks.” The football player mutters, tossing the empty cup at Kaleb and scowling. As he leaves, Josie pushes the ice chunks off of her face.

Once enough of the sludge is out of her eyes, Josie can see Kaleb’s bewildered expression in front of her. They haven’t spoken since they met by the dumpster. He probably thinks that she’s insane for voluntarily taking a slushie to the face for a practical stranger.

“Do you have some sort of humiliation kink?” Kaleb asks, reaching out to pick a bit of ice out of her hair.

“No.” Josie replies. She can feel the cold starting to seep into her underwear, but she ignores it. She has a plan - money, practice, and more members. “But I do want to ask you something.”

Kaleb frowns immediately. “I’m not joining-“

“Look, Kaleb. I can’t stand here for long. I need to go clean up, because I’m sure I can’t pull off blue cleavage.” Josie shifts uncomfortably, the liquid slipping down her chest. “Maybe Glee Club will make you more of a loser, but at least it will give you friends. I don’t see anyone else taking slushies for you. Just consider joining.”

Despite the fact that she’s freezing, Josie stands there with him in the hall until Kaleb’s features smooth out and he nods. As soon as she gets confirmation that he’ll think it over, Josie finds the nearest bathroom.

Thankfully, not a lot of people are inside the restroom and Josie can get to peeling off her shirt in peace. She washes her face first, since that’s the easiest place to get, and then slows down her cleaning process as she notices how much slush is on her body. Most of her chest and bits of her stomach are painted with blue dye. She even thinks that she can feel a small puddle of liquid rolling down the slope of her back.

When the bathroom door opens, Josie is still in the same confused position. Shirt off, looking like a creature out of Avatar, trying to scoop mini ice chunks from out between her breasts. If it was just a random classmate who walked in, Josie would only be slightly embarrassed (it’s getting sort of surprising, how little shame she has), but of course it’s Hope, and Josie feels mortified.

“Oh.” Hope breathes, her hand visibly tight on the doorknob as she looks at Josie. For a second, Josie thinks Hope is going to turn around and leave, but all emotion drops off of Hope’s face and she enters the bathroom. “Put your shirt back on, Megamind.”

Josie blushes and scoops up her shirt without thinking. She pauses, glancing between the soaking wet top and her already blue-ish skin.

“It’s… it’s ruined.” Josie tells Hope lamely, hoping that explains why she has to stay shirtless for at least a little while.

Hope obviously hears her, but she doesn’t make a response. She leans over one of the sinks next to Josie and wordlessly begins applying some blush to her cheeks. Josie takes that as her cue to continue cleaning herself.

They go through their routine in silence. Josie has some trouble admitting that she has a routine with Hope, but that’s what it is, _isn’t it_? Hope magically appears in the bathrooms after Josie gets slushied and while Josie washes herself off, Hope spends too long applying makeup or washing her hands.

Neither of them actually come here to use the bathroom.

“You still have dye on your neck.” Hope tells her, breaking the silence. Josie isn’t entirely sure Hope said anything at all, because Hope’s face barely moves when she speaks and her eyes don’t shift off of her reflection in the mirror.

Josie scoops some water into her hand and rubs it against the sticky nape of her neck. She thinks she’s pretty much got it all, but when Hope finally looks at her it’s with an incredibly amused expression.

“It’s like you’re blind.” Hope mutters, rolling her eyes like Josie just said something stupid.

“I can’t see my back.” Josie complains, turning her head. She realizes too late that they’re looking at each other now, staring in a way that’s usually avoided in bathrooms. “Could you… could you help?”

Josie chews her lip nervously, embarrassed about asking and worried that Hope is going to get angry with her again. They’ve been sort of civil for about two days now and Josie doesn’t want to break that, especially since they’re going to have to spend time together at some point to practice their duet.

Hope doesn’t say anything, but she nods once and grabs Josie’s shoulder to spin her around. Josie faces the mirror, watching the reflection of Hope retrieve a couple paper towels and wet them. Hope stands behind her, not really doing anything for a moment, but then Josie feels the careful swipe of a damp towel against her skin.

She can’t help but flinch a little, since she hadn’t really been expecting the feel of it. Hope huffs from behind her and grips Josie’s shoulder to hold her in place.

“Stay still.” Hope instructs, holding Josie a bit tighter when she squirms. Josie forces herself to stay put and Hope’s grip softens up. “Good. At least you can follow an order.”

Josie’s body turns ridiculously red at that. She can’t help it. She’s seventeen and hormonal, and Hope is behind her talking about following orders while she touches Josie with wet fingers.

Hope trails the clumped towel up Josie’s spine, rubbing harder when she reaches the nape of Josie’s neck. Josie’s shoulders naturally shake at the pressure and Hope makes another quiet, disgruntled noise before moving her empty hand higher. Her fingers brush over the side of Josie’s neck, skimming the skin there.

( _Your neck would be nice to choke._ )

With the way Hope’s fingers are positioned, there’s a big chance she can feel Josie’s pulse - which is insanely embarrassing, because Josie knows the pace of it is absolutely rapid.

“Are you, like, dying?” Hope questions. Her hand slips fully over Josie’s neck, the touch gentle but also very present. Hope stops cleaning as she feels Josie’s pulse. “Your pulse is kind of out of control.”

“I’m fine.” Josie squeaks, knowing that both of them can feel the thundering in her neck.

Josie steps away. She must do it a little abruptly, because Hope looks at her like she just grew a second head. Josie avoids Hope’s eyes and rushes to pull her shirt back on, even though it ruins some of their cleaning progress.

“Okay.” Hope says slowly. “I know the sloppy joe diet can cause heart attacks, but you can’t be this jumpy during the duet.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Josie replies in that same panicked tone.

Hope’s eyebrows quirk up. “Okay, then. Call me when you aren’t being a freak.”

Hope collects her makeup and Josie watches her do it. Sometimes Josie’s awkwardness feels as if it’s this thick wall she can’t push though, and now is one of those times.

“I can’t call you. I don’t have your number.” Josie pipes up.

“Whatever.” Hope shrugs. “I have yours.”

Josie’s eyes nearly pop out of her head in surprise. How does Hope have her number? Spy cameras? Stalking?

Hope must see the look on Josie’s face, because she rolls her eyes. “The Cheerios prank call you every Halloween. It’s tradition.”

Before Josie can say anything else to embarrass herself, Hope leaves. Josie slumps against the wall, feeling herself relax now that she’s alone. Since she’s pressed up against the wall, the wet shirt molds along her back and makes everything Hope did disappear.

(Well, it makes the cleaned skin disappear. Josie still feels the ghost of Hope’s hand all over her neck, because how could she forget how it felt to hand over so much control to someone who lived to crush her.)

Josie sighs loudly. She’s such an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehe I have so much drama planned for Sectionals


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fluff for now :)

Josie hears her phone ring almost as soon as she steps out of the shower. She’s naked and a bit slippery, her skin pink from the hot water instead of blue from the dye. Josie plans on ignoring the call until she’s totally dry, but then it occurs to her that it might be Hope calling and she rushes to pat her fingers dry on a nearby hand towel.

“Hi.” Josie greets. Her voice comes out rougher than she’d like it to and she cleans her throat, embarrassed. “Who’s this?”

“Who do you think? It’s not like you have any friends to call you.” Hope (or at least, Josie assumes it’s Hope and not an incredibly rude stranger) replies.

Josie almost says _my sister calls me_ , but that is a new level of pathetic that Josie isn’t ready to drop to. She puts the call on speaker and shimmies her way into a towel, feeling oddly exposed hearing Hope’s voice while she’s completely naked.

“What are you doing?” Hope asks, probably having heard Josie’s rustling.

“I just got out of the shower - sorry.” Her face morphs into something tense and regretful. Why is she apologizing? “Why’d you call?”

The distant sound of a car unlocking comes through the phone and Hope sighs after the beep. “I wanted to go get ice cream with you.”

“Really?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Josie says, feeling stupid.

She tries to mask her slight disappointment as she moves out of the bathroom and into her room for some clothes. Josie opens one of her dresser drawers and pulls out a pair of loose sweats.

“I’m coming to your house. We have the duet tomorrow and we haven’t even practiced.” Hope actually sounds as if she cares. It almost makes Josie not think about the fact that Hope just invited herself over. “Text me your address.”

“But-“ Josie clamps her mouth shut when the call ends abruptly.

There’s about five seconds of shock, where Josie’s mind slowly tries to process the thought that Hope Mikaelson is coming to her house soon. Sure, Josie went to Hope’s place just a couple of days ago, but that had been different. This is Josie’s private space. Less than ten other teenagers have been in her room before and one of them is her sister.

Josie picks up her phone to send Hope her address, and then she goes into full-blown panic mode. She sets the ugly sweats down in favor of some more form-fitting clothes - a tank top and shorts. After looking around, Josie quickly begins removing anything potentially embarrassing from her walls and shelves.

Stuffed animals are carelessly shoved into drawers, old middle school pictures are stripped off of the walls, and her mortifying (though perfectly clean) underwear pile is scooped off the bed and placed in the depths of her closet. Every potentially humiliating thing Josie spots is hidden as fast as possible, since she has no way of knowing when Hope will arrive.

Anything in Josie’s bedroom that could be considered abnormal could also be used as ammunition for more teasing. In no way does Josie want to hand Hope a gun, especially when Hope usually carries around a machete.

Josie has also sort of enjoyed Hope being civil towards her, though enjoyed is a strong word to use. She can’t think of another word to describe her feelings, but Hope being mildly kind has felt like a vacation. A vacation where she routinely gets hit with slushies, but a vacation nonetheless.

There’s a distant beeping sound from outside and Josie peers out her window, spotting Hope’s car and then Hope - in her Cheerios uniform, book bag slung over her shoulder, pristine ponytail in place - getting out of the vehicle.

If asked, Josie would say that she took a very casual, not-nervous stroll down the hall, but Lizzie would most likely claim otherwise. Probably because Lizzie is the one who gets tackled to the floor in the midst of Josie’s mad dash to the front door.

“I think you broke my rib.” Lizzie complains, squirming around under Josie. “What’s gotten into you?”

Josie’s eyes go to the door. She’s wondering if all the noise they made when landing covered up the sound of the doorbell. “Hope is coming over.”

“Hope Mikaelson?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” Lizzie questions, her voice shrill. She pushes Josie’s shoulders and Josie rolls off of her easily.

Josie is about to explain how they hadn’t gotten much work done the first time they met at Hope’s house, even though Josie had been there until dark, but the doorbell finally rings. She decides not to finish her explanation. Which is probably a good decision, because she’s not sure what she would say about dinner with the Mikaelsons, and Lizzie is already retreating up the stairs, anyways.

She pulls open the door and ducks her head a little, because Hope’s height always surprises Josie, no matter how close they seem to get to each other.

“Hey.” Josie greets, stepping aside to let Hope in. “Do you want to go to my room to practice or..?”

“What? So you can molest me in private?” Hope snaps unexpectedly.

Josie frowns, her heart suddenly plummeting to her toes. She’s barely closed the door yet and Hope is already insulting her. It’s not like they were friends or anything, but Josie really hadn’t been expecting something that harsh so soon.

“I just…” Hope continues, her back to Josie. Josie watches some of the tension slip from Hope’s posture. “Your room is fine.”

Josie nods mutely and leads them up the stairs. While Hope hadn’t actually said sorry, her voice seems mildly apologetic, and Josie isn’t one to start fights.

Still, whatever mood she had been in is shattered now. The cleaning Josie did around her room hardly matters now when Hope sets her bag down on the floor and stares at the bed like she’s afraid to be on it with Josie. God, it’s irrational but sometimes Hope really does make her feel like a pervert.

“Penelope is a fatass.” Hope says bluntly and sits down on the edge of the bed. Josie watches in silence, feeling utterly confused. “And today at practice, she fell on my shoulder - on purpose - because she’s also a bitch.”

Josie still has no idea why Hope is telling her any of this. All she can really do is stand there, trying to weed out multiple possibilities. Maybe Hope is suffering from some sort of heat induced hallucination, if she just came from Cheerios practice.

“Isn’t Penelope your best friend?” Josie asks.

“Of course.” Hope nods. “But she’s also Satan and my shoulder hurts.”

A few seconds pass of Hope sitting and Josie processing. Penelope is a bitch. Hope’s shoulder hurts. Hope is also kind of a bitch, but mostly only to Josie.

Josie’s eyebrows pinch together. “Is… Is this your way of apologizing?”

“Are we going to practice or not?” Hope returns and Josie understands - this is as close to remorse as Hope is going to get.

Take it or leave it.

“Yeah. Let’s practice.”

The next forty minutes are spent in silence. Actually, that’s a total lie, because they’re singing for most of the time, but they don’t stop to talk so it feels as if nothing has been said for a while. They get the duet down and then go through it a few more times, pausing only to rest their voices and glance awkwardly at each other.

Hope’s voice is beautiful and high in a way that seems distinctly feminine. Once again, Josie is surprised with just how perfect Hope manages to be.

She’d be like a Disney princess if she lost the anger issues and wasn’t extremely homophobic.

“Do you want to take a break?” Josie asks, once she’s sure that they’ve got it down.

Part of her is surprised that Hope cares enough about Glee Club to initiate practices like this and actually commit to singing. The other part of her isn’t surprised at all, because she’s seen Hope lead the cheerleading squad. She knows how everything Hope does is done with every bit of her energy.

“Sure.” Hope stretches, revealing pale skin and a prominent line of muscle that Josie tries very hard not to notice. “I could use some water.”

Josie nods and she leads Hope down the stairs, to the kitchen. She resists the urge to roll her eyes when she spots a mess of blonde hair retreating around the corner as soon as they get down there.

Lizzie is being dramatic. Hope is okay, sometimes.

“The cups are up there.” Josie points at a nearby cupboard and opens the fridge to fetch the pitcher of water.

She sets it down on the counter and faces Hope, only to find her staring up at the cupboard with a bit of a frustrated pout. Hope isn’t tall enough to reach the cups. Josie bites the inside of her cheek, laughter and words like _cute, small,_ and _adorable_ lodging in her mouth.

“Do you need help?” Despite Josie’s best efforts, her voice comes out clearly amused.

If Hope weren’t standing under a cupboard she can’t reach, then maybe her glare would cut Josie in half - but since she is, her dirty look just leaves a mild sting.

Josie raises her hands high in surrender and approaches Hope slowly, trying not to anger her further. A tiny smile comes across her lips as she stands behind Hope and goes to get two cups. Josie’s hips, stomach, and breasts press into Hope’s back for one scorching second before she steps away, cup in hand.

The smile has disappeared, burned off by the heat on her face and the warmth in her blood.

“Ow.” Hope mutters quietly, reaching out to dip her fingers under her uniform and rub her shoulder.

“I barely touched you.” Josie points out.

“Like I said, Penelope is a bitch.” Hope replies darkly. “I’m going to make her run so many laps.”

She actually does laugh this time, because Hope is such a stereotypical cheerleader that it’s funny. Josie sobers up quickly when she sees the grimace on Hope’s face as she presses a little too hard on the bruised spot.

“If it really hurts that much you should put some ice on it or something.” Josie suggests gently.

Hope frowns and shakes her head wearily. “I don't want to get my uniform wet.”

“Just take it off.”

By that point, Josie is already digging through her freezer for something to help. They don’t have an actual ice pack, which means Josie has resorted to sorting through their collection of frozen vegetables. All she’s thinking about is whether Hope prefers broccoli or peas, so she doesn’t really notice what just left her mouth or how Hope is staring at her with all of the shock in the world.

“Um.” Hope says slowly. “Okay.”

Josie stands back up to her full height, holding both the broccoli and peas. She almost drops them when her eyes catch on Hope’s fingers, which are curling around the top half of her cheerleading uniform.

The top goes before Josie gets a chance to pry her eyes away. She swallows thickly, trying to face the fridge instead, but the fridge door totally sabotages her attempt at modesty by showing her Hope’s shirtless reflection.

Hope’s skin is as pale as a blank canvas, which is ironic because Josie swears she’s never seen anyone else look more like art. She has muscle everywhere (it’s fucking unfair) and somehow still looks _so_ soft, so touchable that Josie wraps her fingers around the fridge handle just to distract herself.

A slight chill wraps itself around her fingers and Josie uses the temperature change as a reminder that touching Hope would most likely result in a slap and utter mortification.

“Peas or broccoli?” Josie asks, instead of doing something completely stupid.

“Broccoli.” Hope replies.

Josie nods and puts the peas away, focusing hard on little things that don’t matter as she holds out the frozen broccoli bag to Hope. Math homework, Lizzie’s fashion magazines, and Grey’s Anatomy.

When Hope takes the bag from her, Josie glances down on instinct. She immediately gets an eyeful of Hope standing there in her cherry red bra and that scrap of fabric the Cheerios call a skirt. Josie focuses on the ceiling, repeating _math homework, Lizzie’s fashion magazines, and Grey’s Anatomy_ in her head, despite the fact that she’s pretty sure that image has been burned into her brain forever.

“Josie?” Hope‘s abs ask. “Can I have some water or not?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Josie says and rushes to pick the pitcher up, feeling stupid for standing around when the empty cups were still on the counter.

She pours them both a drink and proceeds to practically inhale hers in a couple of seconds, before filling her cup again. Josie sips the next one a lot more slowly, embarrassed about reacting this way under Hope’s watchful eye.

“So.” Josie leans against the counter, staring down at the liquid in her cup. “What’s Jesse St. James like?”

Hope makes a quiet, amused noise at the question, obviously reliving some memory in her head. “He’s a total dick.”

Josie runs her thumb along the outside of her cup, collecting condensation. It’s an action that she almost immediately regrets, because Hope’s bicep looks otherworldly when she holds the broccoli like that and she’s swearing, and- _Christ_ , now Josie’s fingers are wet.

She wipes her hand on her shirt. “Jade seems… impressive.”

The group backflip Josie witnessed earlier is almost enough to get her mind off of Hope being shirtless in her kitchen.

“She’s not that impressive.” Hope grumbles, the edges of her lips tipping down noticeably even as she drinks.

“They did a simultaneous backflip.” Josie responds, remembering the time she had almost broken her arm when Lizzie tried to show her how to do a cartwheel.

“I can do a backflip.” Hope protests instantly. “We do a lot more than that during cheerleading.”

Josie has no idea why Hope sounds mildly upset, but she figures it’s just the competitive nature Hope seems to have ingrained in her. She shrugs and forces her face into a neutral expression as she turns to actually make eye contact with Hope.

“Sure, I believe you.”

Hope’s eyes narrow, an obvious insult building on her lips. “I-“

A noise comes from Hope’s skirt pocket and she huffs, already looking mildly annoyed with who’s texting her. Hope reads whatever is on the screen before she puts it back and finishes the last of her water.

“I have to go.” Hope puts the cup in the sink. “Tell your dad I said thanks for having me.”

Josie blinks at the unexpected politeness, but she figures manners are also ingrained in Hope, too. Her family seems so proper.

“Okay.” Josie replies.

She refuses to let herself feel disappointed as she watches Hope return the broccoli, get her bag, and pull back on her top. Josie was sort of enjoying Hope’s company. It was nice to have someone to tease a bit, other than Lizzie.

When Hope walks out of the door without saying goodbye, Josie’s disappointment slips in. She’s watching Hope go down her lawn from the front door, preparing to go upstairs and cry a little about how she’s very attracted to a bully and a homophobe, when Hope suddenly stops walking.

Hope pushes her bag off of her arm and steadies herself, still not facing Josie. Then, Hope pushes off with her feet and does a backflip, right there on Josie’s lawn.

She claps as soon as Hope lands it. Josie really can’t help it - that will always be one of the coolest things she’s ever seen. Hope picks up her bag and continues on her way to the car.

Josie can’t be completely sure, but she thinks she spots Hope smiling before she drives off.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just got done with finals today so be ready for longer chapters :)

Two new members join them for their next Glee Club meeting.

Josie isn’t really surprised to see Kaleb, but a small, unexpected smile comes across her face at his presence. The real shocker is seeing Sebastian in the back of the room, his bulky arms folded over his chest and the scowl on his face very clear as he whispers something to Landon.

“Hey, Kaleb.” Josie says, resisting the urge to question Sebastian’s presence.

There’s no one she could really ask. Hope isn’t close enough with her for casual conversation and speaking to Landon still makes Josie incredibly nervous. Lizzie is off in dreamland, staring at Sebastian’s biceps, so she would be no help whatsoever. Her only choice is to sit down next to Kaleb and try to ignore the feeling that someone is going to dump a slushie on her head from behind.

“Hey.” Kaleb smiles kindly.

Josie returns it. “I’m glad you decided to join.”

Less than a minute later, Alaric clears his throat and claps his hands together to get everyone’s attention. He stands in the middle of the room, preparing to speak. Josie sits up, ready to pay attention to her dad, and hears someone behind her noisily eating a burrito.

Of course, it turns out to be Sebastian. Josie would say that Lizzie has the worst taste, but that would make her a hypocrite. Landon isn’t exactly the best person for Josie to have a crush on.

“First of all, let’s welcome our new members, Sebastian and Kaleb.” Alaric’s words are followed by brief clapping, most of the club busy with their lunches. “Okay, Hope and Josie it’s time for you to perform your duet.”

Both girls stand up and make their way to the front of the room as Alaric backs off to give them space. Josie is a bit nervous about singing in front of the whole club for the first time. Hope, on the other hand, appears so composed that it’s borderline creepy.

“You’re singing a duet with Trouty Mouth?” Sebastian asks. His tone is teasing, if not a little rude.

Josie resists the urge to roll her eyes.

“What’s that?” Hope feigns confusion. “Sorry, I couldn’t understand you ‘cause of your accent. Maybe try speaking English next time.”

Everyone outside of the football players and the Cheerios in the room tense, watching the exchange with careful eyes. Sebastian glares at Hope for a moment before releasing a small chuckle, gesturing at her to go on.

Popular kids are so strange.

Josie glances over at Hope, unable to get over how odd it feels to watch her interact with her friends. When Josie sees the tiny smile on Hope’s face, something unexpectedly hot and angry crawls up her throat. She swallows quickly, her throat bobbing with the movement.

The feeling leaves as soon as it comes, disappearing during the first few notes of the song. They get through it without difficulty. It’s actually a little surprising how good they sound together. While their voices are similar enough to blend, Hope’s has more of an edge to it while Josie’s is girl-next-door sweet.

Once they’re done, all of the Glee clubbers clap and both Hope and Josie go back to their seats. The attention still makes Josie blush, so she focuses on trying to rid the heat from her face.

“You and Hope actually sound pretty good together.” Kaleb tells her. He lowers his voice to just above a whisper. “I didn’t think the ice queen went well with anything but acrylic nails and Satan.”

Josie snort-laughs, something about finally being able to tease instead of receiving the insults spurring her on. “Don’t forget mascara and baby sacrifices.”

Kaleb covers his mouth with his fist to keep from being too loud. Alaric is giving a long-winded lecture on how duets are important in show choir and half of the room is now filled with people who would gut them for making fun of Hope, so neither one of them want to be heard.

They continue making quiet remarks back and forth for a solid ten minutes, until Josie feels eyes on her back that are hot enough to make her sweat.

She peers over her shoulder, unsurprised when she meets Hope’s gaze. As soon as she does, Hope quickly fixes her eyes on a wall across the room. Josie’s stomach sinks, wondering if Hope heard any of what they were saying.

Somehow, that was all it took to make Josie feel bad about the light teasing. It’s unsettling, knowing she can’t even make a couple jokes without being knocked off-center. Guilt swarms her stomach, but she tries her best to push past it. Hope has probably said a lot worse when Josie wasn’t around - hell, Hope has said worse to Josie’s face.

Josie shakes the feeling off. If she’s honest, it sort of lingers for the rest of the meeting. She doesn’t catch Hope looking at her again and when Kaleb tries to say something else, all Josie can manage to produce is a small chuckle that pretty much ends the conversation.

“Wait, wait.” Alaric chastises them as everyone tries to get up at the sound of the bell. “Who here can bake?”

After a moment of confusion, Josie, Hope, and Landon hesitantly raise their hands.

Alaric smiles at the trio. “Good. We’re having a bake sale to raise money for Sectionals. Who’s free after school?”

Josie never really has anything going on after school, since she’s not in any clubs besides this one and doesn’t play a sport. She’s about to tell her dad that, but she sees Hope looking through her schedule and decides to stay quiet for a moment. Admitting that all she does after school is watch television with Lizzie has never seemed like more of an embarrassing idea with Hope there.

“Dude.” Sebastian bumps Landon’s shoulder. “You bake? Gay.”

Landon rolls his eyes. “Whatever, your mom taught me. And I’m busy after school, sorry. I’ve got football practice.”

Sebastian and Landon get up, followed by everyone else who Alaric isn’t roping into a bake sale. They break off immediately, all of the Cheerios and football players exiting through the left while the others duck out of the door on the right.

“I guess I could make brownies.” Hope shrugs, lifting her bag from where it was laying between her feet.

“Brownies are good.” Josie readily agrees and collects her stuff. “The home ec room is open after school. We could do it there.”

Both girls come to stand in front of Alaric, not sparing a single glance towards each other but addressing him politely. Alaric accepts this information with a grateful nod.

“Thank you.”

Hope heads left without another word and Josie watches her back for a moment, thinking it over before she follows after Hope. Josie skips up to her right outside the door, prodding her arm gently.

Josie might be going insane, but she thinks that Hope visibly relaxes upon realizing it’s just Josie touching her.

“I didn’t know you could bake.” Josie takes her hand away once she has Hope’s attention.

She’s aware that Hope has more mood swings than Lizzie and could go from quiet and uncaring to biting off all of Josie’s fingers in seconds.

“Backflipping and baking.” Josie continues, when Hope says nothing in response. “Impressive.”

The barest of smiles comes across Hope’s mouth. It feels as if Josie is stepping over some sort of metaphorical finish line and receiving a trophy, but that victorious emotion ends as soon as some thick-headed boy rounds the corner and hits Josie with a slushie.

Josie gasps dumbly. It’s a rookie mistake, because she gets a mouthful of ice and sugar that she’s forced to swallow. She used to love these drinks until her classmates decided to make them face masks, now all they do is churn her stomach.

She only feels sicker when she gets the sludge off of her face and finds the guy speaking to Hope with an uncaring smirk on his face.

“So, Hope, are you still going to homecoming with Landon?” The boy leans towards her and Hope promptly steps back, raising one unimpressed eyebrow at him.

“He’s still my boyfriend.” Hope replies, clearly annoyed.

It’s obvious she deals with this kind of stuff a lot.

Josie looks over the way the guy is standing, two steps too close and inclined towards Hope like he plans on kissing her sometime soon. His grin is so cocky one would think that he already won the lottery.

“That’s a shame, considering the football team sucks.” The boy says bluntly.

Hope’s expression hardens. “Who even are you?”

They’re completely ignoring her, it’s as if Josie is furniture. Still, she can’t pry herself away from the exchange. She wonders if this boy only slushied her in an attempt to impress Hope.

“Jed, lacrosse team captain.” Jed tells her proudly, as if that’s his last name. “The football team is going to lose their homecoming game and you’re way too hot to be going out with a loser. Look, he’s even got you hanging out with Miranda Sings.”

Two sets of eyes suddenly go to her and Josie shrinks in on herself, wishing that she would actually turn into a piece of furniture. Why hadn’t she left already?

“I’m not hanging out with her.” Hope replies after a moment, slowly shifting her gaze off of Josie and back to Jed. “She’s a freak. She just keeps following me around.”

Something in Josie’s chest tightens so horribly that it’s painful. It feels as if her ribs have caved in and are stabbing at her organs. She finally has the good sense to leave and goes down the hall in search of the nearest bathroom.

Josie finds it on familiarity alone. This time, the process of cleaning herself off feels more tiring than sad. She isn’t surprised that she got slushied again, but she _is_ disappointed with herself for having a sliver of the belief that Hope might stand up for her over some lacrosse douchebag.

By the time Josie gets most of the slush off and has wringed out her shirt, she’s steadied herself a bit.

Maybe she should focus on being a little rude for once. Josie has a habit of pushing away any unpleasant feeling that comes along, which is usually a good thing, but now it makes her feel as if she’s a doormat. She wouldn’t be shocked if she found the imprint of Hope’s white tennis shoe somewhere on her side.

She needs to stand up for herself.

The warning bell rings and Josie leaves the bathroom without getting a chance to change her clothes. She’s still light purple by the time she reaches her next class. Ice is melting in her underwear while Lizzie talks her ear off about Sebastian for all of the period.

Josie catches phrases like _he’s hotter than Zac Efron and Ryan Gosling combined_ and _his arms could cure cancer,_ but otherwise doesn’t listen to her sister.

She doesn’t even have the energy to feel guilty about ignoring Lizzie.

Every time Josie tries to focus on something else, she’ll shift to the side and feel liquid on her thighs or get a glimpse of the dark syrup caught under her nails. She must look pathetic. That thought fuels her for the entire day, throughout three classes until the final bell rings and Josie is practically buzzing with steadily building anger.

The home ec room is empty when Josie enters. She thinks about starting the brownies herself, but then she decides that doing most of the work would be counterproductive to trying to appear angry.

So, Josie mindlessly scrolls through different apps on her phone until Hope comes in.

“Hey.” Hope greets, pushing open the door to the home ec room. Her eyes go up and down Josie’s outfit, obviously a bit shocked Josie still hadn’t changed.

“You’re late.” Josie responds shortly.

Usually, Josie isn’t one to be petty. She’s gotten in enough arguments with Lizzie to know things go a lot smoother when she apologizes as soon as possible, but right now she’s exhausted, angry, and a little sad. Hope isn’t her sister, she doesn’t have to forgive her.

Hope rounds the counter apprehensively, her gaze burning into Josie’s side for what feels like forever before she releases a small sigh and starts finding ingredients. They continue to work in silence. Josie goes for all of the things stacked high in the cupboards (flour, sugar, chocolate chips, and bowls) while Hope ducks down to get the items lower to the ground (mixing spoons, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract).

The situation is funny enough that it almost melts through the thin sheet of ice on Josie’s heart, but when she rolls up her sleeves all she sees is her slightly dyed forearms. It quickly kills whatever humor she felt.

Hope is in the middle of melting butter when she finally says something. “Are you mad?”

“I’m not mad.” Josie replies, fully aware of how angry she sounds. “I get it now, you’re a coward.”

She watches Hope’s back grow stiff, her shoulders locking up so obviously that Josie wonders how Hope ever keeps anything secret. Someone might as well have stamped the word anger on Hope’s forehead at birth.

“What did you just call me?” Hope questions, voice rougher than sandpaper.

Maybe it’s because Hope is too busy with the butter to actually look at Josie or maybe it’s because she’s run out of second chances to give, but this time Josie doesn’t cower away from Hope’s threatening tone.

In fact, Josie steps even closer, until she’s almost in Hope’s personal space. It might be an insanely stupid move to make, but honestly it’s never been a better day to be tall. The inches she has on Hope are so much more present now that they’re closer.

“A coward.” Josie repeats. “You like Glee Club, I know you do. I don’t see why you don’t just admit it.”

There’s some odd satisfaction that comes when Hope has to tilt her head up a bit just to make eye contact with Josie. It would be really gratifying if Hope’s signature glare wasn’t powerful enough to put someone in a grave - but it is, and Josie suddenly feels as if she has been buried alive.

“You’re such an egghead.” Hope comments, her glare softening with a shake of her head. Josie’s eyebrows scrunch up at the childish insult.

“I’m not-“ And then there’s egg yolk slipping messily down the side of her face.

Josie gasps in surprise. The yolk is warmer than a slushie, but much, much slimier. It goes straight into her hair, along with the cracked eggshells, and mats the strands together. Josie can feel it dripping down from her scalp onto her forehead.

It’s disgusting enough that Josie doesn’t think first when she dips her hand into the flour and throws the white powder all over Hope’s face.

Hope’s mouth pops open in this comically shocked expression before she gets a generous handful of flour and coats Josie’s neck in it. Through her white-ish vision, Josie can see Hope’s hand come over her mouth to keep out a chuckle. Josie can feel the egg and flour meeting somewhere on her collarbone, creating a foul mixture that Josie thinks Hope deserves to feel.

She picks up an egg and smashes it on the top of Hope’s head before Hope can get away. Surprisingly, Hope doesn’t look murderous, just determined.

Josie sees Hope going for the flour again and smacks her hands away. Apparently, Hope enjoys acting like an immature, competitive child, because she keeps on trying to scoop flour out of the bag. Josie knows exactly how to deal with this (being Lizzie’s sibling has served as life training), and catches Hope by the waist on instinct.

Lizzie is basically the Jolly Green Giant, so Josie is a bit off with how much weight she expects to carry, and ends up spinning Hope through the air.

Hope just laughs. No, actually, she doesn’t _just_ laugh. She releases the sweetest sound Josie has ever heard. It’s high, loud, and filled with joy. It’s better than receiving a field full of puppies on Christmas Day from Santa Claus himself.

Josie almost can’t believe that Hope produced such a sound, but when she eventually sets Hope down, Hope’s bright smile stands as evidence.

“You’re an actual third grader.” Josie rolls her eyes, but a grin breaks across her face, too.

She spots Hope’s hands reaching towards the spice rack and grabs them swiftly. Red pepper to the eye would hurt. Hope still continues to struggle, so Josie walks Hope backwards until she’s got Hope pinned against the edge of the counter.

Hope is weirdly strong (stupid muscles), and breaks free in a matter of seconds. She uncaps a small container of cinnamon and Josie shuts her eyes tight, ready to be hit with it, but when she opens them part of Hope’s head is a powdery brown.

“Is this your way of apologizing?” Josie questions. She thinks this is much more fun than saying sorry.

“Don’t push it, Saltzman.” Hope replies, but her smile is light and her eyes crinkle at the edges when she says it.

They both try to catch their breaths through their smiles. Every inhale causes the scent of raw egg to dip into Josie’s nose, but every exhale brings a pleasant brush of their chests. Josie’s skin might as well be permanently crimson, with how she feels herself blush harder every time Hope so much as breathes near her.

“Josie…” Hope says, her voice lower than ever.

Josie’s ears catch on the way Hope’s mouth hugs her name as if she’s not ready to let go of it just yet.

It’s so husky that Josie’s body turns molten at the sound of it, her skin more sensitive than an open wound under Hope’s delicate fingertips. Josie watches Hope trace her shoulders, swiping away a bit of flour on the way down to Josie’s forearms. Her fingers feel a lot heavier than they actually are, like they’re almost holding Josie down.

That same understanding from before slips into her mind again. She gets the desperation from Landon, Jed, and boys all over the school. She gets it as soon as she feels Hope’s fingernails scrape down her skin and sees the long, dark curl of Hope’s eyelashes.

Josie _feels_ it - the relentless pressure pushing her towards Hope. That same gravitational pull.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will the brownies ever get made?

The second Josie leans forward, Hope’s arms straighten and she pushes Josie away.

Josie stumbles back far enough that her head smacks against the cupboard. She hisses as pain shoots through her skull. The collision leaves her ears ringing. Josie clutches the back of her head, feeling a particularly tender spot throb under her fingertips.

“What the hell?” Hope is spinning in Josie’s vision, but all it takes is hearing the venomous lilt to her voice to know she’s outraged. “You tried to kiss me.”

“No, I.. I-“ Josie stammers.

No explanation comes to mind. She had leaned in quite obviously, making her intentions clear. There’s no excuse that Josie can make up on the spot, especially with the way her head feels right now.

Josie tries to step closer, thinking that if she could just reach Hope then everything could even out. Hope backs away in alarm, clear disgust on her face. Josie has never felt more sick.

“I thought you said you weren’t gay.” With the way Hope’s looking at her, Josie might as well be patient zero.

She tries to come up with a response, but all the words seem unable to leave her mouth. They’re blocked by some invisible barrier, one that burns like poison in her throat and stings her eyes. Josie sniffles, finding it slightly hard to fully inhale through her nose, and curses herself silently.

She can’t cry.

She _won’t_.

“Uh…” A masculine voice comes from the hall and Josie lifts her gaze, spotting Landon in the doorway. “What are you two doing?”

Hope’s eyes leave burn marks on the side of Josie’s face, but Josie refuses to make eye contact. The only thing keeping her together right now is staring at the wall. She won’t give up her little bit of composure, especially when she feels as if Hope is about to make her world crumble completely.

Things would get so much worse if people found out about this. Everyone already makes fun of her, but _this_ \- trying to kiss Hope Mikaelson? This will get Josie her own personal graveyard.

Josie might as well have tried to put her tongue in a nun.

“We’re baking.” Hope says after a moment. “I’m going to go clean up.”

Josie releases a relieved breath. She listens to the sound of Hope’s retreating footsteps and the quiet smacking noise that accompanies Hope and Landon’s goodbye kiss, and then Hope is gone. Despite Hope’s absence, Josie is still tense all over, because she can sense Landon’s less than subtle breathing coming from the doorway and knows he must be watching her.

“I thought you had football practice.” Josie speaks to the floor, hoping she doesn’t look too pathetic.

Chances are, Josie’s appearance resembles a drowned rat’s. The egg yolk is continuing to drip everywhere under her clothes and her hair feels heavy and matted with damp flour. At least the mess of ingredients dumped on her takes away from the tears.

“I have ten minutes.” After a quick moment of consideration, Landon steps into the room and walks in front of her. She feels his hand come across her forehead, wiping some of the dirty clumps off of her skin. “Is your head okay? Did Hope do this?”

The genuine concern in his voice causes Josie to raise her head. She gets a glimpse of the worry on his face before she drops her gaze again in embarrassment, realizing how he’s looking at her like she’s an injured puppy he found on the street.

Josie brushes off his hands, finding that him touching her isn’t as amazing as she initially thought it would be.

“It’s fine. We were just messing around and I bumped it.” Josie explains, though when she really thinks about it the back of her head hurts more than anything else.

“I could take you to the nurse.” He offers kindly.

There’s something about the football uniform and dough eyes that still make Josie weak, and she finds herself nodding. She’s so distraught that her heart doesn’t spike when he leads her by the arm and she barely notices it when his other hand touches her waist. All Josie can think about is Hope and the impending doom the girl will bring.

She has no idea where Hope ran off to. Probably a bathroom. Josie is sort of surprised Landon didn’t go check up on his girlfriend and is here with her instead.

“You know, I told Hope to be nice to you.” Landon says out of nowhere.

“What?”

“Yeah, or I wouldn’t go to homecoming with her.” He goes on, not noticing how his words are affecting Josie. “I did the same with Sebastian. I knew we needed more members, so I bribed him with some old vampire flicks.”

Had that been all it was?

Josie’s stomach shakes violently and she suddenly wishes Landon wasn’t leading her along, because she feels as if she might vomit if someone pulls her the wrong way. The only reason Hope was playing nice was because she wanted Landon as her homecoming date. Josie had been so stupid to think for a second that Hope actually enjoyed spending time with her.

“Thank you.” Josie replies weakly. When she swallows, all she feels is the harsh scrape of a knife down her throat.

“No problem.” Landon opens the door to the nurse’s office.

Josie is pretty sure he’s smiling at her, but she doesn’t check. Somehow, it doesn’t really seem important anymore.

The nurse asks her a few questions, all while Landon lingers by awkwardly. It takes a short time for the nurse to tell her that everything is fine and bring her a small ice pack, advising Josie to sit around in her office for a bit just in case she gets dizzy. All in all, the nurse’s main concern seems to be on why Josie’s cheeks are tear-stained and covered in baking ingredients.

Once the nurse is done with her check-up, she leaves Josie and Landon to recuperate in the back of the office.

Josie sits on a miniature cot with the blue ice pack against the back of her head while Landon watches her, his arms folded over the number on his jersey.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Landon questions, seeming eager to help. His voice is sort of giving her a headache, but he’s being nice, so Josie fights the urge to snap at him.

“I could use a few tissues.” She replies.

Landon plucks three out of the box and brings them to her. Josie accepts the tissues with a grateful smile, but she doubts that the thin paper will do much to help get the thick mixture off of her skin.

The next few minutes are filled with awkward silence that Josie absolutely hates. She wishes she could think of something to say, but she isn’t really in the mood to talk. Her stomach continues to roll painfully whenever she allows her thoughts to extend to Hope. Josie feels sick, but she knows the situation would only worsen if she puked in front of Landon.

It’s stupid, but all Josie can really focus on is how things had felt before Hope had pushed her away. She had gotten close enough to almost feel the brush of Hope’s lips. Part of her regrets doing it at all, but another part of her wishes that she had moved a bit faster.

Josie simply can’t help it. The inviting pink of Hope’s mouth flashes in Josie’s mind again, the memory of her smile fresh and gleeful. Hope’s lips had looked _so_ soft-

“What’s it like?” Josie asks, startling both of them by breaking the silence. “To kiss her.”

Pure confusion flashes across his face, Landon’s head tilting in a way that would usually be cute and puppy-like but is now just nerve wracking. Josie can’t believe she asked him.

“Hope?”

Josie nods, all of her bravado gone in a matter of seconds. Her heart is beating so loudly that Josie can’t tell if Landon even answered or not.

“It’s like… you know when you’re playing football and-“ He pauses, frowning as he realizes his football analogy won’t work with her. “Have you ever been tackled?”

Josie nods again, thinking back on the multiple times Lizzie randomly challenged her to a wrestling match during their childhood.

Landon smiles and continues. “Good. It’s like when you get tackled. It totally knocks you over and all you can focus on is what’s happening. But like, hotter.”

It looks as if he’s going to say more or question her about why she asked, but then Landon checks the clock on the wall and stands up. He announces that he’s going to be late for practice and is gone in seconds, leaving Josie to think over his answer.

Being kissed by Hope is like being tackled, but in a hot way. _Sexy tackling?_

Josie frowns, wondering if there’s something seriously wrong with her head. She presses the ice pack down a bit harder and keeps it there until she notices it’s slightly warm, so there’s no need to hold it anymore. Josie thanks the nurse and hands back the ice pack, wandering out into the hall.

She could call her dad or Lizzie and ask one of them to come get her, but then the club would have no brownies for the bake sale. Josie would feel sort of bad about that happening, since they promised they would make something. Plus, they left the home ec room a total mess and Josie doesn’t want to get in trouble.

There is a little problem, though. Josie has dried egg yolk running all the way down her back.

It’s that thought that leads Josie to the girls locker room, figuring that anyone on a team would be out practicing right now. She’s relieved to find it empty, glad that she’ll be able to shower and change clothes at school without having to get questioned by anyone about her appearance.

Josie pushes down her shorts, briefly wondering how Hope managed to get flour on her thighs, and kicks the fabric away from where it pools by her ankles.

A yelp comes from somewhere near the showers and Josie, startled, hits her shoulder on a nearby locker. The metallic ring of it bounces off the walls, along with both Hope and Josie’s heavy breathing as they try to get over the shock.

“Ow.” Josie mutters, rubbing her shoulder. She looks at Hope, seeing the girl hazardously clutching a towel to her body.

All it takes is a dip in the towel and one glance at Hope’s exposed cleavage for Josie to force her eyes to the ceiling. How do they always end up barely-clothed in front of each other?

Why does Hope have to be naked _and_ wet this time?

“Okay, I know this looks bad.” Josie says in one quick breath, her skin reaching overwhelming levels of heat already. “But I wasn’t trying to be a perv or anything. I was just-“

“Following me into the shower?” Hope questions.

Out of the corner of her eye, Josie can see Hope adjusting her towel. Her face scorches - paper to a flame - and she bites the inside of her cheek so hard that she thinks she tastes blood.

“I needed to clean up. Someone cracked an egg on me.” Josie explains, unable to keep the slight accusation out of her voice.

“Clean up somewhere else.” Hope hisses.

“Oh, yeah. I’ll just go find the school spa.”

They both seem to come to terms with the problem they’re in around the same time. Josie needs to shower, Hope needs to change, and at least one of them needs to go back for the brownies.

Hope exhales lowly in exasperation and Josie bobs on her toes, looking everywhere but at the other girl.

“Fine.” Hope agrees reluctantly. “Just don’t try to kiss me again.”

Josie faces the wall while she pulls off her shirt. “I wasn’t going to kiss you.”

“You were.”

“I wasn’t.”

There’s some rustling on both sides. The sound of Hope zipping something up, the wet squish of Josie pushing a chunk of goo out of her hair, and the steady, distant beat of water droplets splashing across the tile in the showers. Josie can’t even see Hope and yet it feels as if she could track every single one of Hope’s movements with her back turned.

“You _were_.” Hope repeats, more firmly now. Josie feels Hope’s presence closer than it was before.

She spins around, seeing Hope a few feet away from her in a pair of red shorts and a loose, button-down flannel that must be Landon’s. Something about the shower has made Hope appear a lot softer, her skin pink from the shower’s lingering heat and her hair darkened by the water.

It’s almost bizarre to see Hope’s hair out of that tight ponytail she usually keeps it in. The strands flow like lava down the sides of her head, framing the fuming volcano that is Hope Mikaelson.

“I wasn’t.” Josie shakes her head, lying straight through her teeth. “I wouldn’t kiss you if I had a gun to my head.”

Hope huffs, steam practically leaking from her ears as she gathers her ruined clothes and moves towards the door. Josie steps out of the way, in no mood to accidentally bump into a pissed off Hope, especially while Josie is still in her underwear.

When Hope leaves, the door swings shut with such animosity that Josie nearly jumps out of her skin.

_That’s new._

She’s never won an argument with Hope, though Josie isn’t sure if she would call this winning - but she’d definitely gotten the last word in. Which is progress.

Now that she’s sure she is alone, Josie hooks her thumbs in the waistband of her underwear. They’re a simple black pair of boy shorts, a sharp contrast from the lingerie Hope always seemed to have on. They’re comfortable, but Josie definitely hadn’t planned on wearing them in front of anyone. Maybe she should have thought ahead and gotten some sexier underwear, considering she ends up undressed with Hope more often than not.

No. She won’t cater to Hope’s… needs?

Josie flushes in embarrassment, her thoughts humiliating her even though no one else is in the room. The point is, she won’t be buying sexy underwear for anyone she isn’t dating, even if it takes a long, long time for anyone to ask her out.

The only thing that stops her from undressing are the heavy footsteps she hears approaching the locker room. Josie carefully removes her fingers from her panties. Not a second later, Hope barges in again.

“Can I help you?” Josie questions, hoping she looks at least a little bit intimidating and knowing her effort is probably futile.

Hope is definitely the intimidating one in this relationship (it’s far from being a friendship and acquaintanceship sounds too casual for people who have seen each other in their underwear).

“Why wouldn’t you kiss me?” Hope asks.

Josie inspects Hope very carefully, mostly because Hope has surprised her again and Hope’s surprises are rarely ever good.

The grip Hope has on the doorknob seems to be strong enough to demolish a wall, her knuckles strikingly white. Hope appears more tightly coiled than ever, from her grip to the grim, flat line of her mouth. Josie traces the spot on Hope’s upper body where Landon’s oversized shirt has slipped off her shoulder, revealing a nasty looking bruise and clearly flexed muscles.

It would be hot if Hope didn’t remind her of a bullet - locked and loaded, ready to kill.

“You’re… cruel.” Josie exhales, stunned by her own honesty. The words continue to spill from her mouth like a jar of ink that’s been pushed over. “You’re not a good person. You’ve been bullying me for years for no reason at all. You’re the villain.”

Much like ink, her words leave a stain. Josie watches Hope’s sour expression twist into something sad and broken - two words Josie has never associated with Hope before, but now seem very fitting.

Hope is gone before Josie can say another word.

She swallows roughly, her throat heavy and her eyes misty with unshed tears. What just happened and why does Josie feel as if she’s somehow ruined everything?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, thoughts? 
> 
> Lmao that was awkward but I like reading all of your comments.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tweets/comments have been so nice, thank u for all of them :)

Against all odds, Josie does pull together enough brownies (which she has to make all on her own) for the bake sale on Friday. She’s utterly exhausted by the time the Glee Club gets to setting up tables during lunch, but it’s worth it to see the money start rolling in.

Josie slumps against her chair, too drained to pay much attention to the heavy gaze coming from Hope, Penelope, and Maya’s table. She knows it’s rare to have a day where she doesn’t get into it with Hope, but for once Josie is praying she’ll make it to the weekend without another confrontation.

Her eyes droop closed dangerously. Once, twice, and at the third time Josie presses the heels of her palms into them to try and wake herself up. All that gets her is spots in her eyes, her vision of the cafeteria horribly blurry.

Sectionals are next weekend. She needs to focus.

“Are you okay?” MG asks, gently shaking her awake. “You seem tired.”

Josie spares a glance at Hope, spotting the girl accepting a few dollar bills from a student. The whole action feels painful, like her eyes have been scraped raw in their sockets. She can’t remember if she got any sleep last night or if it was a constant mix of anxiety and crying.

All Josie can think about is what people will say when Hope exposes her and _when_ Hope will finally do it. The disgust on Hope’s face had been torture alone, but to see it on everyone’s? Josie isn’t sure she’s strong enough to bear it.

“I’m fine.” Josie smiles tightly.

Lizzie and MG clearly don’t believe her, but they don’t comment on it. When it comes to Hope, Josie’s lips are sealed shut. She doesn’t know if she could ever find a way to properly explain their dynamic.

The next ten minutes or so pass in comfortable silence, the trio working out a system of MG greeting people, Lizzie counting the money, and Josie cutting the brownies into neat squares. She nearly cuts herself twice with the knife, but figures that she would do no better handling their income or appearing friendly at the moment.

“We’re out of napkins.” Lizzie says, checking the little box for any spares. They’ve been handing out one napkin with each chocolate square.

Josie stands and stretches as she does so, thankful for the chance to catch a break. “I’ll go.”

No one argues with her, so she tucks the empty box under her arm and leaves the cafeteria. The halls are refreshingly empty. Josie walks slow, savoring the few breaths she can get in without being surrounded by people. It feels better to be alone, but she still can’t move past the voice in her head that tells her she’s walking some sort of death march towards the day Hope drops a bomb on her.

Footsteps suddenly come from behind Josie, a tad faster than her slow trudge. A vile feeling pinches her side as she recognizes the familiar pattern of steps.

Hope.

“ _Seriously_.” Josie whispers under her breath, annoyed with herself for walking so slow.

There’s a pause. A beat. A moment where both of them stare at each other, appearing a lot more tired than angry. Eventually, Hope falls into step beside Josie with a sigh, presumably also on the search for more napkins.

“Stalker.” Hope mutters to the floor. It seems purely out of obligation.

“I go to school here.” Josie replies, feeling the irritation run hot beneath her skin. “And you followed me.”

“I did _not_ follow you.”

Josie doesn’t bother to answer. She wills herself to remain silent, knowing from experience that provoking Hope will only lead to a fight. Josie isn’t sure she could survive a brawl with the wind right now.

Her home ec teacher once asked her to go fetch extra napkins from the storage closet, so Josie knows that they’ll be there. What she doesn’t remember is how dark and small it is inside. Josie and Hope are adamant about not touching each other, and their arms still manage to brush when they enter.

The door shuts behind them, darkness filling every corner of the space. It’s suffocating. Josie isn’t sure if she can blame it entirely on the closet. Being too close to Hope tends to take her breath away.

Josie blindly feels the walls for a light switch. A dim, orange glow fans across Josie’s face as soon as she does. It illuminates Hope’s moving figure, revealing that she is already carrying a tall stack of napkins in her hands.

Good. Quick and easy.

Josie grabs the doorknob, twisting it to the right. Nothing happens. When Josie turns it left and the doorknob still refuses to budge, she begins to put some weight behind her hands.

“What are you doing?” Hope asks, watching Josie struggle ridiculously against the door.

“It’s locked.”

Hope pushes her aside immediately and Josie stumbles back. They trade positions, only for Josie to watch Hope go through the same thing before trying to shove the door open with her shoulder. The sight would be amusing if Josie didn’t get the sense that neither of their attempts would work.

“Stop it, you weigh like ninety pounds.” Josie grabs Hope by her uniform, careful not to actually touch her, and yanks her away from the door.

Hope’s back presses to her front and Josie steps back on instinct, accidentally knocking into the shelf behind her. She stays that way, molded uncomfortably to the wood. Touching Hope usually leads to nowhere pleasant and besides, some kinder part of Josie can’t remember which one of Hope’s shoulders has the bruise.

She doesn’t want to hurt Hope - a stupid worry, considering Josie is almost completely sure that Hope would have no problem putting a knife through her head.

“I’ll call someone.” Josie reassures her. She checks her pockets for her phone while Hope watches.

Her phone. The one that’s probably sitting out by Lizzie in the cafeteria right now.

Josie pinks under Hope’s scrutiny, her face only heating further when it becomes apparent to both of them that Josie’s phone is elsewhere. Hope looks as if she might snap Josie’s neck.

“You’re an idiot.” Hope tells her, scowling with no ounce of subtlety.

“Fine.” Josie is not in the mood for this at all. “Where’s yours?”

No response comes. Hope doesn’t even move, her scowl twitching into something a bit softer. Embarrassment is an odd shade on the head cheerleader.

Hope’s gaze finds the floor. “In my car.”

“What was that?”

_“In my car.”_ Hope repeats, obviously frustrated with Josie’s teasing and her newfound smirk.

Josie crosses her arms over her chest as Hope rocks towards her slightly, maybe to hit or insult her or maybe to do something entirely different. It remains a mystery, because Hope steps as far back as possible, meaning that she takes all of four small steps before hitting the door.

Panic rises in her head and comes down just as quickly. _Someone will notice they’re gone._ Josie sucks her bottom lip into her mouth, feeling the raw, cut skin - the result of a sleepless night and a bad habit. She focuses on that, finding some comfort in less pressing problems.

Sitting around for a few extra minutes might actually not be that bad.

Hope clearly isn’t thinking the same. Her whole body moves restlessly, almost as if it’s vibrating. Pale fingers clench into fists, eyes dance from right to left with no sign of pausing, and her stomach trembles the same way a freshly plucked string would.

“Are you okay?” Josie asks.

Hope mutters something quiet enough that it gets hidden between two heavy breaths and Josie steps forward, eyebrows and hands raised in worry.

“What did you-“

“I’m claustrophobic.”

Oh.

Josie’s mind blanks. She suddenly realizes that she knows little to nothing about claustrophobia, other than the fact that she would never associate it with Hope. Something as simple and human as fear, especially over something that ultimately couldn’t cause any harm, didn’t seem like it would apply to her.

“Are you crying?” Josie questions in pure disbelief, watching something wet slip down Hope’s cheek.

Hell is freezing over.

Hope glares at her, somehow managing to appear threatening with tears in her eyes. Despite Hope’s marvelous glaring abilities, her eyelids are still puffy and pink around the edges. There’s a clear red streak across Hope’s nose and the middle of her cheeks. Be it from the panic or the embarrassment of crying in front of someone, Hope is blushing.

Pigs are flying.

“Okay, I can help.” Josie says in one big rush, eager to make Hope feel better even though she isn’t sure if she can. “I’ve dealt with Lizzie for years.”

“I’m not a nut job.”

Josie bristles, her fingertips slowly curling towards her palm but stopping halfway. “Neither is Lizzie.”

Hope neither agrees nor disagrees, she stays silent except for the slightly labored breathing. Josie takes that as her cue to continue and gestures for Hope to sit down. Surprisingly, Hope complies without question and slides down the door until her thighs meet the floor. Josie follows, accidentally knocking their ankles together as she does so.

Sparks fly where they touch, bursting so dangerously that Hope jerks her feet away from the embers.

Josie settles down in front of Hope, ignoring the slight pang of hurt in her chest that comes with noticing how Hope seems a little afraid over her.

“What’s your favorite color?”

“I don’t know.” Hope replies, obviously thrown off by the question. “I guess, bl- pink.”

She smiles gently in return, catching Hope’s tiny mistake - if it could even be called that. Josie wants to say that no one cares if Hope prefers blue over pink, that something so simple won’t affect her image at all. There is nothing that Josie can think of that will ever affect Hope’s reputation. She’s known Hope for years and never seen a crack in her armor.

Well.

Until now.

“We could play Twenty Questions.” Josie goes on, desperate to distract her.

“Yeah, that could be fun.” Hope remarks dryly, the wetness leaving her eyes but the roughness remaining in her voice. “If we were six.”

The tip of Hope’s nose is rosy, the rest of it a faint pink. A leftover tear traces Hope’s jaw and she wipes it away on her wrist, sniffling quietly. Josie’s heart turns soft enough to mold.

“Truth or Dare.” She offers.

Hope rolls her eyes. “Never Have I Ever.”

“I Spy.”

“Charades.”

“Seven minutes in-“ _Heaven_ dies on her lips, builds a grave somewhere far from here.

They both swallow audibly, oddly in sync for two people who couldn’t be more mentally far apart. Josie checks if Hope seems relatively okay before backing up once again, her spine meeting the shelves and gluing itself there.

Josie really shouldn’t be allowed to speak.

With that thought in mind, Josie stays silent for a solid five minutes. She plans on not speaking at all until someone comes to find them. She focuses on her feet instead of the girl across from her, ties her shoelaces twice just to distract herself. Anytime Josie glances up, her heart jolts and she drops her eyes again.

Why does Hope have to look that way? It’s never a casual glance with her - she’s always all in, always boring those blue eyes intensely into Josie’s skin. Somewhere on Josie’s body, there must be a branding from the heat Hope leaves behind.

“I’m sorry.” 

Josie blinks hard in alarm, then proceeds to check the back of her head for any sign of brain damage or blood. She’s gone insane.

“What?” Josie must have heard her wrong.

“I’m sorry.” Hope repeats, no louder than before. “For your head. I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

Josie’s eyes narrow. She looks at Hope’s face for any sign of a lie, but there is nothing but sincerity. She checks the closet for a hidden prank, but all Josie finds are napkins, the shelves and their belongings, and Hope, of course. They’re alone. Maybe that’s why she is hearing an apology at all.

_We’re alone,_ Josie thinks. The thought gifts her misplaced bravery.

“I’m sorry for trying to kiss you.”

Hope’s mouth falls open and her eyes widen considerably in shock. Josie waits for a response, half-amused and half-terrified by the look on Hope’s face. It takes a second, but eventually her expression shifts into something entirely unexpected.

Victory?

“I knew I was right. _You_ said I was cruel.” Hope points an accusing finger at her, looking very similar to how she does when coming off the field, like she has just won something.

There is no field here, no pom-poms either (the only thing that comes close is Hope, who refuses to wear anything other than her cheerleading uniform at school), just Hope and her smug grin, that seems completely out of place.

“You _are_ cruel.” Josie feels strangely satisfied when Hope’s smile flickers down into a bit of a frown. “You’re also not bad to look at.”

An invisible force holds her face to an open flame. Josie suddenly finds the ceiling quite interesting. She can’t believe she just said that. As lame as the compliment was, Josie basically admitted that Hope was attractive and kissable in the same minute.

Kaleb was right, she must have some sort of humiliation kink. Hope is never going to let her have a second to breathe now. Every bit of air Josie takes in from today on will probably be slushie-laced.

She screws her body up tight, hardens it into a shield, prepares for whatever insult Hope chooses to throw at her.

Instead, a voice comes so softly from the other side of the closet that Josie isn’t totally sure it belongs to Hope. “Thanks.”

“Thanks?” Josie repeats, checking her head again. Insane. “That’s all? No _you’re gonna burn in hell?”_

Hope wets her lips, the action unnecessarily attractive for the situation they’re in. She shifts her legs, their ankles bumping clumsily and staying together.

“I just thought that if I was nice to you about this, then you wouldn’t tell anyone about the whole claustrophobia thing.” Hope admits, almost shy with her assumption.

Josie shakes her head, frowning. “I wouldn’t tell anyone anyways.”

Hope stares at her, unmoving and silent. Her features become about as expressive as a Barbie doll’s. Josie is really waiting for the day that she’s able to read Hope’s face properly.

Apparently, that day is very far off.

The closet door shakes before being yanked open abruptly, causing Hope to fall backwards. She barrels into Ethan’s legs, sending him stumbling further out into the hall. Proper light finally leaks into the room and Josie squints as she stands, her eyes a bit sensitive from the dark.

“Finally.” Josie grumbles to herself, twisting this way and that to get a satisfying stretch.

“Everyone was wondering where you guys went.” Ethan offers to help Hope up, but she stops him with a single glare and lifts herself. He holds his hands in the air in surrender, looking terrified of her.

Josie wants to tell him that Hope isn’t actually that scary, but she figures that would do nothing to make him relax. Honestly, Josie hasn’t seen Hope be kind to anyone but her, and even with her it’s fleeting.

“Why didn’t you check, _oh, I don’t know,_ the closet where they keep the napkins?” Hope replies sarcastically.

Ethan flushes under her deadly gaze and glances over at Josie for help. Josie has no idea why he seems to think that she has any control over Hope, but she tries.

“Let’s just get the napkins.” Josie suggests softly.

Hope remains in battle mode, but disappears into the closet for a few seconds and returns with that stack of napkins she had been carrying. She pushes them into Ethan’s chest and he takes them, stuttering out something unimportant that sounds like a _thanks_ before quickly running off.

“You terrify him.” Josie points out, once he’s gone and she’s left to walk back to the cafeteria beside Hope.

She shrugs. “It’s funny.”

“It’s not.” Josie insists. She tries to pin Hope with a hard look, but when Hope’s eyebrow quirks up and her mouth lifts at the side, Josie falls defenseless to her smile. “Okay, only a little.”

They walk the rest of the way in silence.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you’re all doing okay with everything that’s going on.

“Please stand.” Klaus instructs, waiting patiently as everyone rises at his command.

Hope smooths down her babydoll dress as she gets up, erasing a wrinkle in the white fabric. She joins hands with her mother beside her and shuts her eyes politely as her father leads the church in their final prayer. It’s one Hope learned when she was five, engraved in her brain like the ABCs.

She finds it hard to recite now.

It’s as if plastic wrap has ensnared her, wrapped itself around her body so nothing can touch her but that single, cold layer. Hope tries to focus on her mother’s hand, but it might as well be reaching to her from across an ocean. She tries to say the prayer, but her breath meets plastic and stays trapped there. All of the voices surrounding her barely hit her ears, and Hope is sure for one terrifying second that her heart has lost the ability to breathe.

“Honey.” Hayley says gently, squeezing their hands together. “Are you okay? You didn’t say your prayer.”

Hope opens her eyes, seeing that people are already shuffling out of the pews. Familiar chatter fills the church, with everyone saying their goodbyes or discussing where to go for brunch.

“Sorry, mom. My voice is just really tired from Glee Club.” Hope replies.

Her mother’s face flickers into something akin to distrust. Hope meets Hayley’s eyes innocently, daring her to point out a flaw. Daring her to call Hope out in church, in front of everyone. For a brief second, Hope thinks that Hayley might actually do it, but eventually her mother’s smile comes watery as wine.

Hayley touches her arm reassuringly. “Okay. Let’s go talk to the Parks for a bit.”

_Coward._

They spot Penelope’s family pretty quickly. Penelope’s father is the type of guy to stop for some small talk and stay to give a speech, so there’s already a small group gathering around him. Plus, Penelope’s brother, Peter, refuses to ever take off his Spider-Man mask. It’s easy enough to spot the little boy running around trying to shoot invisible webs at everyone.

Hayley immediately joins the tiny crowd Mr. Park has accumulated and Hope walks around them to stand off to the side with Penelope and Peter.

“Go elsewhere, Penis.” Penelope says, pushing her little superhero of a brother away as soon as she sees Hope.

The boy runs off without question, leaping onto a nearby bench and trying (failing horribly) to do a flip.

“You have a weird family.” Hope comments, leaning against the rail Penelope has propped herself up on.

“Don’t be a bitch. He’s six.” Penelope looks off, her features slightly pinched like she would rather be somewhere else. Hope would chastise her about the swearing, but she figures that they’re less in church and more church-adjacent. “Are you coming to brunch?”

Hope shakes her head. “No. I can’t look fat in my homecoming dress.”

It’s a shitty excuse for the fact that Hope isn’t feeling up to brunch right now. She doesn’t want to spend the next hour or two throwing sugar packets at Penelope and discussing her celibacy pledge with every nosy adult that comes by. Nothing ever feels as if it’s just _her_ business anymore.

“What?” Penelope frowns. “What do you weigh, like ninety pounds?”

The words rush Hope back into a memory she isn’t ready for. Being locked in that closet with Josie, only about a day ago. She remembers it all, from the way Josie’s voice had dropped into the gentlest tone to the look in Josie’s eyes when Hope’s tears finally betrayed her.

She remembers _Josie_. Light as air, soft enough to sink her fingers into, so far from sin that Hope’s entire life feels like a lie.

Hope swallows thickly, thinking that it’s lucky she can breathe at all. Her days are numbered, her lifeline ticking down. Something has to happen to her at some point, Hope knows that she can’t escape unscathed after being friendly towards someone who actually admits to being a homosexual.

Josie tried to kiss her, for fuck’s sake.

Just another millimeter closer, another step, another second of insanity where Hope stayed still, and Hope would have kissed a girl. The thought alone is sickening and permanent in her head, glued in the very back of her mind forever. Hope could have kissed a girl - she could have kissed Josie.

Things have gotten much too close to comfort.

Josie is going to end up in hell and if Hope isn't careful, she’ll be dragged right down there with her.

“Okay, I’m calling your mom.” Penelope says, out of nowhere. Hope senses that she’s been trying to get her attention for a while. “You look like you’re going to vomit.”

“No. I’m fine.” Hope shakes off Penelope’s concern.

She descends the steps before Penelope can say another word, moving at a calm pace so as to not raise suspicion. Hope plucks her mom out of the crowd mid-conversation, aware she’s being rude but too unsteady on her feet to wait around any longer.

“What are you-“

“I’m feeling really sick.” Hope bites the inside of her cheek, little warning signs popping up in her head. She didn’t say the prayer and now she’s disrespecting her mom by interrupting her. “Can I skip out on brunch and go home?”

“Sure, honey.” Hayley replies easily, though she appears a bit worried.

Hope nods, finding herself infinitely grateful for her mother once again. If Hope had asked her dad, he would’ve made her endure the meal.

They hug and as soon as it’s over, Hope dashes down the rest of the stairs. She can feel their eyes, heavy as stone, on her back until she finally reaches the end of the block. Once Hope is alone, her pace picks up to a steady jog. She must look insane, running god-knows-where in her dress, like a fleeing bride.

Where is she going?

Everyone in this town that Hope cares about is in church, except for Landon.

Hope slows down once she reaches his street. The only reason he isn’t at church with the rest of his family is because of a particularly important book report due tomorrow. It annoys Hope to no end. For one thing, she told him to do that report last week when it was assigned (a failing grade would prevent him from playing football), and she knows that her dad will never shut up about her dating a boy who misses church.

Almost everything about Landon irritates her these days, but he’s still her boyfriend. They’re still supposed to be in love.

His front door is unlocked. Hope has to stop to take a breath shortly after turning the doorknob. She rests her head against the wood, sighing in exasperation. Why can’t he ever remember to lock the front door? Why does she have to baby him through every step of life?

Hope enters the house anyways, pushing past her troubling thoughts. It should seem creepy to show up unannounced, but they’ve both done this a handful of times before.

The tension in her spine disappears as she walks upstairs, the familiarity of his home comforting her. He’s still her boyfriend. Things are still fine.

Landon is in his room, hunched over a gaming console, very obviously not doing his project.

“Hope?” Whatever surprise he feels about her appearing in his room disappears swiftly, a smile replacing his confusion. “I thought you were in church.”

Landon tilts his head innocently, the way he always does when he’s clueless about what’s going on. Hope used to find it endearing, now her stomach twists because his eyebrows don’t scrunch together and his lips don’t pout.

“What’s wrong?” Landon continues, setting his controller down, worried by her silence.

What’s wrong?

_Josie almost kissed me. I almost let her._

Hope steps forward and keeps moving on fear alone, her mind clouded by that thought. She ends up on his lap and doesn’t stop there. An overwhelmed, squeak of a gasp leaves Landon’s mouth before Hope grips his collar and drags him into a kiss.

She runs him down with her mouth, her hands shaking and grasping at his shirt. Hope gets it off with one strong tug. His exposed body appears muddled in her vision, the stretch of his skin nothing but a pale blur.

The back of her eyes sting dangerously, but Hope swallows down whatever emotion she feels. She won’t cry, not again. Not like she did in front of-

Hope leans away from him, trembling visibly as a pouty mouth and Bambi eyes force their way to the front of her mind.

“Are you okay?” Landon asks.

His thumbs rub slow circles on her hips, his hands somehow entirely too large for her to feel any comfort. Hope nods frantically, her fingers going for his belt and never reaching it as he gently grabs her by the wrists.

“You’re crying.” Landon informs her softly.

Hope almost doesn’t believe him, but when she opens her mouth to argue the tip of her tongue is salty and the air won’t pass through the lump in her throat. She crumbles in his arms, pressing the wet skin on her cheek to his chest. A second of hesitation comes and goes and then Landon has his arms around her, cradling Hope gently to him.

She feels so weak.

About a hundred questions come from Landon’s mouth before he finally gives up on asking her what’s wrong. Hope tries to answer at least half of them, but it seems impossible.

It’s uncomfortably present how aroused Landon had been before Hope started crying. His heartbeat is slowly descending to a normal pace but there’s still a lump pressing into the inside of her thigh that makes Hope feel sick. She moves onto the mattress slowly, as to not offend him, and faces the ceiling.

The air in his room is thick with chemicals from body spray and the upbeat music from his video game is playing on repeat.

Guilt eats at her insides as Hope tries to remember a time she enjoyed dating Landon and comes up empty. He’s too nice for her to use him like this, even if she can’t truly figure out what she’s using him for.

Popularity?

Does she just need someone to hold her hand in the front row at church or is it something else entirely?

Hope’s throat bobs as she swallows. She wipes her eyes with her sleeve. She really needs to get a grip.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Landon offers, his shirt back on and a pillow placed quite awkwardly over his lap.

“No.” Hope sits up, pulls her knees to her chest. “Tell me about this game you’re playing.”

Landon watches her for a moment, obviously disturbed but quiet. He reaches for his controller again. “So, there are these wizards…”

—————

It takes until lunch on Monday for Hope to see Josie in person.

Hope walks past the hallway that leads to the choir room, where the Glee Club (she’s skipping, she refuses to spend forty-five minutes trapped between both Landon and Josie) is meeting, and her feet slow down considerably upon catching a glimpse of the girl.

“Hope?”

At the sound of her name, Hope speeds up. Josie has never called out to her before. It unsettles Hope, knowing she’s let Josie get close enough to think that they can greet each other openly in the halls.

Whatever monster that’s made a home in her brain only rears its ugly head when Hope thinks of or sees Josie.

She can probably escape it.

“Hey.” Josie greets, falling into step beside her, all long legs and easy smile.

Never mind.

“What do you want?” Hope asks coldly. Maybe if she can’t kill the monster, she can fight it off with one of her deadly glares.

It has worked before. She’s been told that she could slit someone’s throat with her eyes.

“Well, we’re having a Glee Club meeting.” Josie informs her. The edges of her cheeks are alight with color. It’s all Hope can see. “The choir room is the other way.”

Hope stops short when she realizes Josie probably isn’t going to leave her alone. If they take a few more steps, they’ll be near the cafeteria, and that will give them an audience, which is the last thing Hope wants.

She faces Josie head-on, ready to tear into the other girl, and accidentally stumbles into unknown territory. Her body paralyzes itself, the only part of her that’s able to move being her eyes, which trace over Josie’s outfit as if on command.

Is there some sort of fabric shortage Hope doesn’t know about?

Josie slowly leans away (they are standing quite close), tugging at her skirt self-consciously, obviously having caught Hope’s gaze. Josie’s attempts to cover her body do nothing to preserve her modesty. The skirt barely covers her thighs. It probably doesn’t cover her ass much either, but Hope is unsure why that thought comes to mind.

“Some of us have lives outside of show tunes.” Hope finally replies, her tone dry and her face hopefully emotionless.

Hope’s eyes dip to the little plaid skirt again.

“Why are you dressed like a Catholic schoolgirl from a bad lesbian porno?” Hope continues, unconsciously stepping forward.

It only becomes apparent to Hope that she’s moved closer when Josie steps back. Josie bumps into the locker behind her, a little gasp leaving her lips that Hope’s ears eat up greedily.

She already knows that noise will somehow thread its way into her problem.

“I don’t…” Josie breathes, looking around in such a frenzied way that it peaks Hope’s interest. “You watch lesbian porn?”

“Of course not.” Hope puts space between them immediately, her whole body aflame.

Hope hasn’t seen any porn - gay or straight - and she plans on keeping it that way.

Josie crosses her arms over her chest, appearing uncharacteristically smug now that she’s thrown Hope off of her game.

How does Josie know how to infuriate her so easily? Hope already feels as if she’s exhaling the way a dragon would, all scorched tongue and venomous smoke.

“Just leave me alone.” Hope huffs and turns the corner to walk towards the cafeteria, hoping Josie has the good sense to not confront her in public.

“Wait.”

Josie has no sense at all.

Hope is so frustrated that she whips around on instinct, completely ready to grab Josie and drag her into a bathroom somewhere, but all she sees is a wet, blue flash. Suddenly, Josie’s upper half is soaked in a familiar, icy liquid and her arms are visibly trembling from the cold - or maybe tears.

A tiny, broken whimper comes from under the sludge that covers Josie.

“Hope.” Jed grins slyly, the empty cup carelessly tucked under his arm. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Someone brings a sledgehammer down on her final support beam. Hope’s blood boils so hotly that the sun could melt under her fingertips.

“What the _hell_ do you think you’re doing?” Her jaw clenches, teeth rattling with the force of it.

Jed stands there like an idiot, unable to produce an answer, his mouth opening and closing in shock. He reminds Hope of a crying toddler in the mall who has never been told no before.

It takes him a minute, but Jed recovers and has the audacity to show her that same cocky grin.

“I-I’m protecting you from the freak. That’s what a good date would do.”

Hope steps closer to him, perfectly aware that they’re drawing a crowd. She thinks she sees several people hesitantly taking out their phones, ready to film if a fight occurs.

“I am never going out with you.” Hope continues, only spurred on by his blubbering. “You’re a sad, pathetic little boy who couldn’t get a prostitute to sleep with you. Leave. Me. Alone.”

The hallway is deathly silent. No one moves. No one breathes. It’s official, Hope Mikaelson has found a way to stop time.

She leaves everyone to their silence, retreating back down the hall. Her fists are clenched at her sides, her nails feeling more like claws with how they manage to rip into her palms. The delicate skin is tearing under her grip, splitting enough to leave crimson on her fingertips.

Sometimes, Hope scares herself. Not because she has her father’s anger, but because she has no idea what started the outburst in the first place.

Hope ends up in the nearest bathroom (of course), staring at a stranger in the mirror. She watches her chest rise and fall furiously, the movement almost violent with its pace.

A quiet voice in her head speaks up, sounding like both of her parents’ voices intertwined.

_Get your shit together._

Hope cleans her hands, rubbing the blood away under the faucet. She wipes off any excess water with a paper towel and checks the minuscule cuts. They may not heal by homecoming, but Hope can’t bring herself to worry about the dance with how quickly the inevitable is coming.

Josie enters.

Hope stares at her own reflection, intent on not getting a glimpse of Josie’s ruined appearance. She smoothes out any emotion from her face and moves as if she hadn’t noticed Josie’s presence, when in reality it’s the only thing Hope ever seems to notice.

“You look like a mess.” Hope points out impassively.

“I can’t really see.” Josie admits, vulnerability leaking through her every word. “Could you maybe help, again?”

Hope should be out the door right now. They aren’t friends. Josie is too weak to be her enemy. They should have no connection. The smart move would be to leave, to go find her friends so they can bitch about how disgusting Jed is. Josie seems to make her everything but smart.

A heavy sigh passes through Hope’s mouth. They should really stop doing this.

“Fine.” She agrees, already on the path to the door.

“Thank you.”

Her hands clasp around the lock, twisting it until it clicks into place.

When Hope turns back around, Josie is sitting up on the sinks. Josie’s sweater is already off, all of her tan skin glistening and on full display. Her legs are spread wide enough that Hope can see pale, pink fabric under the skirt.

Christ.

Hope has never seen porn, but she’s pretty sure this is what an opening scene would look like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is my favorite Hope POV chapter so far, what about y’all?


	18. Chapter 18

When Hope steps between Josie’s legs, bumping her thighs open further with her hips, it takes all of Josie’s resolve to stop herself from moaning embarrassingly loud.

She bites her tongue, feeling ridiculous for being so sensitive. Her romantic life is so abysmal that no one has even touched her above the knee. Most of the time, Josie tries not to dwell on her lack of a significant other, because all it leads to is tears and excessive ice cream consumption, but now she can’t help but notice how needy the years of being alone have made her.

Familiar heat runs across her face, trailing from her cheeks to much, _much_ lower. Josie tilts her head to the left, trying to evade Hope’s eyes, but she’s swiftly pulled back into place by a hand on her jaw.

“Stay still.” Hope instructs, keeping her fingers firm on Josie’s face.

“Sorry.” Josie replies.

Hope holds Josie still for a second until she seems to accept that Josie won’t move again. Josie manages to not move much as Hope swipes a damp paper towel over her face, carefully cleaning the delicate skin under Josie’s eyelids and using a bit more force on her cheeks.

Josie actually thinks that she’s doing a fine job of keeping herself in check, but after a few more minutes Hope sighs in exasperation and sets the towel down.

“If you were sorry you’d stop squirming.” Hope says pointedly, grabbing Josie by the hip to still her. Josie’s side jerks on instinct alone, causing Hope to hold her tighter. “Seriously, Josie. Am I going to have to tie you down?”

Her breath catches in her throat, the English language suddenly disappearing from her brain. That sentence puts a very inappropriate visual in Josie’s head that only burns brighter at the feel of Hope’s hands on her skin.

How do they always manage to get so close to each other?

“Sorry.” Josie replies, grateful when Hope easily accepts that answer and continues.

In the following few minutes, Josie sits patiently while Hope drags the paper towel down to her neck, pushing off the bits of ice there. Josie had only asked Hope for help because she couldn’t see, but now that her vision is clear she sees no reason why Hope is still touching her. She can’t find it in herself to protest or to say much of anything for that matter, so her lips remain shut.

What could she say?

Everything about Hope is confusing, from the naked drawings to the mood swings. One day, Josie is completely sure that Hope hates her guts, and the next Hope is nestled between her legs, trying to get corn syrup out of her eyebrow.

“You’re so confusing.” Josie blurts, her thoughts flowing right from her brain to her mouth without a pause in-between.

Hope’s eyebrows raise as she steps away. “How so?”

Josie almost calls her back, until she realizes that Hope is simply going to get more paper towels. She clamps her mouth shut briefly, a wave of embarrassment hitting her body as she is reminded again of just how much she’s enjoying Hope’s closeness.

“Well.” Josie begins, unconsciously spreading her legs wider when Hope approaches her. “I thought for sure that you’d be burning me on a cross by now, but you’re actually being… sort of friendly.”

Hope rests her palms flat on Josie’s thighs. Josie fights violently against the shiver that threatens to crawl up her spine. If she wasn’t so horny, she might have had the energy to pay attention to the way Hope’s eyes flash with (yet another) unreadable expression.

If it didn’t sound completely pervy, Josie would ask Hope to take off her shirt. She carries all of her tension in her shoulders. It would be a lot easier to read her that way.

“We’re not friends.” Hope says finally. “We’ll never be friends.”

Josie’s face dips into a frown. “I know. It’s just… never mind.”

Silence follows her forgotten words. Josie tries to console herself in the quiet, reminding herself that she wouldn’t want to be friends with Hope anyways. She already has someone close to her with terrible mood swings. Plus, there seem to be no benefits to being friends with Hope outside of a partner for slushie clean up.

Josie’s life would go a lot smoother if she learned how to push Hope out of it. She could be in Glee Club right now, surrounded by her friends, and instead she’s in a public school bathroom with her greatest bully. She obviously makes very bad decisions.

Still, Josie can’t bring herself to leave.

The minutes stretch on, neither one of them acknowledging each other except for the short, uncomfortable moment when Hope hands over the paper towels so Josie can clean her chest (wiping down her cleavage in front of Hope is not as sexy as it sounds).

“I’ve never met a gay person before.” Hope admits, out of the blue.

The statement throws Josie for a loop, mostly because she has no idea what to say to that. Someone needs to give Hope a manual on how to initiate small talk.

“What, did you think we’d have horns?” Josie responds, trying not to twitch as the towel is dragged over her bellybutton.

“No.” Hope rolls her eyes, no actual annoyance in the action. “I just mean you’re confusing to me, too.”

That completely boggles Josie’s mind. She has no secrets, other than the fact that sometimes she sleeps with a stuffed animal tucked under her arm. Josie didn’t know that there was anything about her to be confused about. She also didn’t take into account the idea that Hope could actually be spending time thinking about her.

What is Josie like in Hope’s mind?

A friend?

An enemy?

Josie suddenly realizes that there _is_ quite a lot to be confused about. The least she could do is clarify a few things, especially if she’s going to be in the bathroom with Hope for a couple more minutes.

“I’m not gay.” Josie watches the gears in Hope’s brain churn, surprised by how cute that pinched look of confusion is on Hope’s face.

Her hands unexpectedly itch to touch Hope, to smooth out that furrow in her brow with her fingers. Josie gets the sense that Hope wouldn’t appreciate being randomly touched, so she tries to casually slip her hands under herself. It’s something Josie hasn’t done since her very fidgety childhood, but it feels needed now.

“You tried to kiss me.” Hope points out again, clearly trying to work through this.

“Yeah.” Josie gives a slightly embarrassed nod. She thinks about how she can dumb this down and make it easy to understand. “But I like boys, too. I could like anyone, gender doesn’t really matter to me.”

It’s odd how Hope bullies people over something she seems to know absolutely nothing about.

Josie allows her to process, leaning back against the cold line of mirrors above the sinks. She tries to keep her thoughts pure, since Hope is less cleaning her and more just touching her at this point. Hope has one hand on Josie’s thigh and another tracing patterns across Josie’s stomach.

Each hand is burning a different mark - past the skin, through the blood, etching Hope’s fingertips onto Josie’s bones.

Somehow, Josie knows that she will never, _never_ forget Hope Mikaelson.

“Anyone including Landon?” Hope asks eventually.

If Josie didn’t know better, she would say that she hears a hint of insecurity in Hope’s voice. The thought alone is ridiculous, because Hope is easily the prettiest girl Josie has ever met.

“It doesn’t matter if I like Landon or not. He has you and you’re…” Josie trails off, a rosy pink coating her cheeks.

No one needs to tell Hope that she’s pretty. It’s a fact, like humans breathe oxygen. Everyone knows it, so it doesn’t need to be said aloud.

“I’m what?” Hope tilts closer to Josie, her palms unconsciously sliding higher up on Josie’s thighs.

The warmth that buzzes up her body is as intoxicating as a drug. It weakens her senses enough that all Josie can do is stare, lost in clear blue and the gentle flutter of Hope’s eyelashes. It would feel almost serene, if Josie didn’t also feel as if she was walking past the _warning_ _danger_ sign and off of a cliff.

“You’re beautiful.” Josie finishes. Her fingers pinch her own skin tightly, the urge to _kiss_ and _touch_ and _feel_ coming hot and overbearing.

When Hope breathes, it goes all across Josie’s face. They’re so close. The only thing keeping Josie from closing the distance is the tiny hold she has on her sanity, the little voice in her head that tries to remind her of the disgust on Hope’s face only a couple days ago. Trying to kiss Hope again now would be crazy.

Except now, the disgust isn’t there, and Josie just might be crazy.

“Hey!” A loud knock comes from outside the bathroom. “Whoever this is, you can’t just keep locking the bathroom door! Some of us have to pee.”

Hope steps away from Josie, appearing mildly agitated, and goes to open the door. Josie sighs quietly, surprised with her own anger. She shuts her eyes tightly, trying to collect herself.

Scratch out crazy, Josie has gone completely insane.

When Josie opens her eyes again, she spots Hope death-glaring the poor girl who had interrupted them. If that girl had to pee before, then there’s a good chance she already emptied her bladder in fear. Josie has never seen Hope direct that much anger towards anyone over something so small before. It’s a little jarring.

Josie slides off the sinks and puts her top back on, deciding to save the stranger. She gently pokes Hope’s spine, satisfied by the way her whole back seems to relax under Josie’s touch.

“Hope.” Figuring Hope will react better if no one else hears them, Josie dips down until her mouth is nearly at Hope’s ear. “Play nice.”

Hope doesn’t exactly apologize for scaring the life (and possibly urine) out of a random girl, but she does huff and exit the bathroom without saying another word. Josie resists the urge to roll her eyes as she steps out into the empty hall with Hope, deciding that it would be smart if her bravery for the day ended here.

“You can’t tell me what to do.” Hope complains, as soon as the bathroom door has properly shut.

_I just did,_ Josie thinks. She swallows the thought quickly. Saying those words aloud would probably get her slapped.

“I know.” Josie replies.

That seems to calm Hope down enough for her to start walking again. Josie follows after her, silently noting that they’re heading back towards the choir room instead of the cafeteria. For some reason, the fact that they’re outside of the bathroom at all makes Josie feel oddly disappointed.

She had been enjoying herself. With _Hope_.

Completely insane.

“Thank you, by the way.” Josie says suddenly, pleased when the sentence slows Hope’s pace a bit. “I mean, thanks for sticking up for me back there. Not a lot of people do it.”

“It wasn’t for you. Jed is an ass.” Hope explains.

Josie’s heart drops to her ankles, lingers above the floor. She should believe Hope, especially since the majority of Hope’s actions have been cruel to her, and yet she can’t. It just doesn’t feel true. Over the years, Josie has seen Hope reject a hundred different boys, but she’d never called them out with so much fury before.

“It’s okay if it was.” Josie whispers to the floor.

Hope stops walking, but Josie stumbles past her for a second of surprise. Panic rises in her chest, a strange instinct kicking in that tells Josie she has crossed a line. She slows to a stop and spins to face Hope, her arms crossed over her chest in a weak form of protection.

It doesn’t matter.

Josie could be holding a steel shield and Hope’s gaze would still hit her with so much intensity that it would feel as if Hope swung an axe at her chest.

“I just mean that I’ll keep your secret.” Josie continues in a rush, trying to calm down the rising anger she can see building in front of her eyes.

Hope’s throat bobs. “My secret?”

“Yeah.” Josie nods. “That you’re actually sort of nice.”

“Oh, well. Thank you.”

The tension slips off of Hope’s face all at once, her features smoothing down into something a lot more calm. Josie feels herself relax at the sight, her arms falling back to her side to fiddle with her skirt.

Hope’s eyes drop to catch the action and Josie stops immediately, not wanting to draw more attention to her legs. Josie can’t help but notice that Hope keeps on stealing glances at her skirt. It’s entirely too short, but Josie hadn’t thought much about that in the morning when she’d put it on.

Josie clears her throat awkwardly, grateful when Hope finally looks at her face.

“Also, thank you for, uh, calling me beautiful.” Hope plays with her fingers for a second before pulling her hands apart, seeming to remind herself to drop the nervous tick. “People don’t usually tell me that.”

Josie’s eyebrows shoot up past her hairline at this. She assumed that everyone always told Hope how pretty she is, but now she considers the possibility that everyone thought the same way as her. Maybe everyone simply forgot to compliment Hope because they thought her beauty was already obvious.

“It’s just a fact.” Josie watches a slight blush creep onto Hope’s face. She steps forward before she can stop herself, spurred on by seeing the color. “You’re gorgeous.”

Pink turns to red very quickly. Josie’s eyes glue the sight to her memory, pride swelling in her chest.

She’s making Hope _blush_.

This is her biggest accomplishment of the entire year.

Hope’s lips part, but no response leaves her mouth. Josie doesn’t need to hear Hope reply, she is perfectly content knowing that she’s made Hope blush and become speechless all on the same day.

They quietly walk the rest of the way to the choir room. Josie props open the door for Hope once they’re there, enjoying the way she gets another glance at the lingering blush as Hope passes.

“Where were you two?” Alaric asks as soon as he spots them. “Sectionals are on Sunday. We can’t afford to have anyone missing meetings.”

Josie shrugs, Hope retreats to an empty seat in the back, and neither one of them says a word.


	19. Chapter 19

“Homecoming, _really_?”

Josie watches from the bed as Lizzie sorts through everything in her closet. Her eyelids itch with the need to shut them and disappear under her sheets for a solid year, or at least until she has to wake up for Sectionals tomorrow.

“Yes, _really_.” Lizzie hisses.

A second later, Josie has a dress laid over her lap. She groans but sits up to inspect Lizzie’s choice anyways. It’s her homecoming dress from freshman year, a simple baby blue gown that she hasn’t looked at since she wore it for the first dance.

“It’s probably too short.” Josie complains, eager to find an excuse not to go.

“Oh, please.” Lizzie takes Josie’s hands and lifts her off the bed. “It’s bad enough we didn’t get new dresses this year. You can show a little thigh.”

Josie groans, but decides not to argue further. She gets the sense that Lizzie would drag her by her hair to homecoming - her sister never misses a dance.

It takes an hour and two large cups of coffee for them to be ready. As predicted, the dress is a bit short around her thighs, though not overly so. Josie still feels like a zombie by the end of her makeover, but at least she looks prettier than the undead.

“That bitch Dana is literally the most annoying person I have ever met in my entire life.” Lizzie inspects herself in the mirror, spinning around twice to make sure everything is perfect.

Josie sits on the edge of the bed, happy that she gets a chance to rest. “You’ve said that about Hope like three times.”

She can’t find the energy to complain about Dana, as irritating as the girl is. They needed a twelfth member to compete at Sectionals, even if all Dana did was insult people and sway in the background during their number.

Josie has no idea why Dana even decided to join (she’s honestly thrown for a loop every time she turns around and sees four cheerleaders in the Glee Club), but she wouldn’t wish a new member away. Everyone knows Vocal Adrenaline will be incredibly hard to beat and so will the Warblers, if they’re half as good as V.A.

“I mean it this time.” Lizzie responds, though it’s the fifth time Josie has heard her say that. “I would rather be locked in a room with Hope than with that trainwreck.”

“I’ve been locked in a room with Hope, it isn’t that bad.” Josie replies without thinking, her eyes on her toes.

Darkness fills her vision for one long second as her eyelids droop. She probably needs another cup of coffee before they go.

“What do you mean?”

Josie blinks herself awake, finally realizing what she had said. She finds herself staring up at Lizzie, who is watching her intensely now.

Crap.

It probably would have been better to fill Lizzie in on everything that’s been happening with Hope a while ago, but Josie had already gotten into the habit of keeping it a secret. She knew Lizzie would call her crazy and most likely berate her for hanging out with _Lucifer’s_ _spawn_ , and Josie didn’t need to hear it.

Her mind already scolds her enough for staying in contact with Hope.

“I mean…” Josie racks her brain for an excuse. “I got locked in a closet with her, remember?”

Lizzie seems to quickly lose interest. “Oh, yeah. I don’t know how you managed to escape hellfire.”

Josie shrugs, hoping the relief doesn’t show too obviously on her face. She feels a little guilty for keeping things from Lizzie, but there’s a selfish part of her that wants Hope all to herself.

“I also don’t know how you two got stuck in that closet.” Lizzie continues, now preoccupied with fixing a displaced strand of hair. “Haven’t you been wondering who locked you in?”

Wait.

What?

Now that Josie really takes the time to think about it, she doesn’t know how they got caught in there like that. She’d assumed the door jammed, but if that were the case then it probably would have busted open when Hope threw her body at it.

Why would someone lock them in a closet?

Josie’s brain actually hurts. She can’t tell if it’s because she’s thinking too much or if it’s due to the fact that she hasn’t had a decent sleep all week.

Lizzie picks up her phone as soon as it vibrates. “MG is here.”

“You dragged him into this, too?” Josie asks as she gets up to look out the window. MG’s car is on their street.

It’s not really a surprise. Lizzie could probably ask him to drop a brick on his foot and he would do it willingly.

“ _Dragged_ is a strong word.” Lizzie replies, checking herself in the mirror one last time before grabbing Josie’s wrist. “Come on.”

Josie huffs as she gets yanked out into the hallway. “Dragged seems pretty accurate.”

—————

Homecoming is exactly as it was the first two years Josie attended - boring and a little sad.

Couples cling to each other on the dance floor while the speakers croon out pop song after pop song, with something romantic in-between for the slow dances. Most people are busy sneaking kisses or getting drunk in the corner with their friends, while others have adopted the wallflower mentality.

Others, meaning Josie.

She molds to the wall as soon as Lizzie accepts MG’s offer to dance, not wanting to be a third wheel for the entire night. Josie watches MG spin her sister, a tiny smile coming across her face as she sees Lizzie laugh. It leaves her lips just as quickly as it came, eaten up by her worrying thoughts.

There are moments when Josie feels fine with being seventeen and having no love life. There are moments when she reminds herself that many people in college will be virgins or dateless and that love could sneak up on her at any time.

This is not one of those moments.

All Josie feels is loneliness, watching her friends fall in love right in front of her face. She’s not close to tears or anything - she hasn’t been nearly that dramatic since she was fourteen - but a weight in her chest grows while everyone else experiences joy without her.

“Brooding doesn’t suit you.”

Josie turns her head, spotting Rafael beside her. He’s offering her a sip from his cup with such a kind, genuine expression on his face that Josie wonders why he doesn’t have a date to the dance.

“I know. Dances make me bitter.” Josie shrugs and thanks him as she accepts the cup.

The liquid is sweet on her tongue but burns a trail down her throat. Of course someone already spiked the punch. _I hate high school,_ Josie thinks to herself, handing back the cup with a grimace.

“You don’t have a date?” Rafael questions.

Josie resists the urge to laugh. Even if someone did find her attractive enough to ask out, the promise of receiving slushie facials because of associating with her would scare them off.

Explaining that makes her feel a little too pathetic, so Josie settles for a shake of her head. She’s glad when Rafael seems to understand her sadness and accept that answer.

“What about you?” Josie counters.

She subtly looks Rafael over, noting how nicely his suit fits him. The only reason Josie can come up with for no one going with him is his reputation as a loser.

“I’m still getting over someone.” He replies, a bit softer than before.

Josie nods. “Bitchy ex?”

Rafael takes a sip from his cup again, not flinching at the taste. He opens his mouth to answer her but shuts it suddenly, looking past her. Josie frowns and turns her head to follow his eyes, startling at the sight of Landon next to them.

“I’m gonna go.” Rafael mutters, disappearing before Josie gets a chance to stop him.

Josie can’t help but tense up now that she’s alone with Landon. She still doesn’t know how to have a normal conversation with him. He smiles kindly at her and all Josie can manage in return is this awkward half-grin that makes her want to slap herself.

She wishes she had more confidence and sex appeal, like-

“Where’s Hope?” Josie asks, raising up on her tippy toes to inspect the crowd.

A strange mix of feelings fills Josie’s stomach as she searches for the other girl. It’s mostly fear, because nothing good comes from a Hope, Josie, and Landon trio, but also anticipation. She bets Hope looks amazing in whatever dress she picked out.

“In the bathroom.” Landon responds. When Josie focuses on him again, he’s leaning towards her enough that her palms feel a little sweaty. “You look pretty.”

“Thanks.” Josie smiles.

A cautious voice in her head tells her that she should check the ceiling for a bucket of pigs’ blood or some other stupid prank that could publicly humiliate her. Josie knows that she looks okay, but she hadn’t put enough effort into her outfit for Landon Kirby to be complimenting her.

They aren’t friends.

They’re barely acquaintances.

Why is he looking at her like that?

“Do you want to dance?” Landon asks. Josie’s mind blanks at the words and she subtly pinches her arm, trying to blink this dream away.

Slight pain comes from the skin she touched, but Landon doesn’t disappear from her vision. Josie notices how his expression slowly starts to grow a little impatient or possibly nervous - which is ridiculous, he’s the quarterback and she has slushie-stained sports bras.

Josie pinches herself again. Landon plays with his hands in front of her.

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” Josie searches the crowd another time, this time nervously. “Hope probably wouldn’t like it.”

The thought of Hope showing up to slap her in front of everyone sounds incredibly unpleasant.

“Hope won’t mind.” Landon assures her.

Josie isn’t stupid, no part of her believes that Hope would be okay with this in any way, shape, or form - but she’s _lonely_. Besides, it probably isn’t healthy for her to start caring about Hope’s feelings over her own.

“Okay.”

Landon offers his hand to her. She takes it and allows him to lead her out on the dance floor. Everyone parts to clear a space for them, as if they can sense Landon’s popularity, and Josie’s stomach does a flip as she catches Lizzie’s astounded face.

The memory of Hope backfilling on her lawn causes Josie to smile. As soon as Landon sees the look on her face, he grins and pulls her in at the waist.

They sway slightly from side to side together and it finally sinks in. Josie is dancing with Landon in front of everybody. She tries to pinch her wrist again (this has to be a particularly realistic dream), but her hands are linked behind his neck in a way that lets her feel his pulse, and _oh shit_ this is actually happening.

“What the fuck?”

Josie jumps away from Landon at the sound of Hope’s voice, immediately trying to shrink into the shadows and failing. She knows that tone well, it’s the same tone that comes before Hope tears into some poor freshman or makes the cheerleaders run themselves sick at practice. At least this time it isn’t aimed at her.

The couple is already locked in an argument before Josie can come up with an excuse. Landon keeps making these movements with his mouth that sort of resemble a goldfish’s actions, while Hope scolds him the way a mother would her child.

It’s getting pretty bad.

Josie was right earlier, though. Even while furious, Hope looks downright gorgeous.

“I’m just going to go.” Josie says, trying to dip out awkwardly.

“No, you stay. I need a witness.” Hope instructs. Josie sighs, her feet suddenly feeling glued to the ground.

“We were just dancing.” Landon gestures towards her and Josie tries to direct her attention elsewhere, wishing they would stop bringing her into this. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal? You _can’t_ touch her, do you know how it makes you look?”

Josie’s mind blocks out most of the argument from then on, mostly because it unsettles her when she realizes that she knows how to calm Hope down in this situation and Landon doesn’t.

Aren’t they supposed to be in love?

“I don't want to be prom king. I’m not sure if I even want to be your boyfriend.” Landon says finally.

Josie feels as if she’s being crushed under the weight of the tension and she isn’t even in this relationship. She glances between them worriedly, now wondering if Landon is going to get slapped instead of her.

Hope is completely silent and yet she appears as if she could burn right through the modest, red dress she’s wearing. It ends just about an inch above her knees, fluttering beautifully around pale skin as Hope breathes heavily through her anger.

Music still blasts around them and people continue to talk amongst themselves, and yet all Josie can hear is Hope’s breathing. Then, Hope turns her head slightly and all Josie can see is Hope’s eyes.

Her face heats unexpectedly, her insides rolling so rapidly it feels like someone kicked her down the stairs.

Oh.

Oh no.

“Fine.” Hope steps away from them. “Do what you want.”

Josie’s heart leaps up into her throat and sends bile into her mouth. She might actually throw up, once her body figures out how to do something other than stare at Hope’s retreating form. That girl really has _phenomenal_ back muscles.

Shit. Has it always been this obvious?

Josie has a crush on Hope.

“Do you want to keep dancing?” Landon asks, nudging her arm carefully.

Josie _likes_ Hope - and she would pick Hope over Landon any day.

“No, sorry.” Josie brushes him away and pushes through the crowd on autopilot, trying desperately to catch up with Hope.

Once she’s out into the hall, she racks her brain to remember the nearest bathroom. The only people she finds in the first one is a group of giggling girls. The second one is the same. Josie checks every restroom in the school that she knows of, growing more and more frantic every time she sees that they’re empty or filled with the wrong people.

Josie is back on the first floor by the end of it, listening to the music coming faintly from inside the dance. She sits down near the entrance. The mere thought of going back inside gives her a headache.

Her insides feel cold enough to freeze and yet, when she hugs her knees to her chest for some warmth, it provides no comfort.

Hope must hate her.

Josie thought that Hope hated her before, but before there were always shared glances and words swapped in the bathroom. Now, there is nothing. Nothing but Josie, alone as always, wondering how she managed to fuck her life up even more.

—————

Getting on the bus for Sectionals feels the same as homecoming did. Everyone around Josie is visibly happy and talking amongst themselves, while Josie can barely force herself to crack a smile.

Her eyes are on Hope, who is up ahead with Penelope and Maya. All three of them seem to be engaged in some conversation that’s making Hope smile adorably, with her cheeks rounded out so much she could’ve aged back five years overnight. Everything appears perfectly normal, but Josie has the sick feeling that it’s not.

Hope should have insulted her by now or at least taken a glance in Josie’s direction. Instead, there’s nothing.

“Are you even listening to me?” Lizzie questions, snapping her fingers in front of Josie’s face.

Josie flinches away from her sister’s hands, surprised that Lizzie had been talking. “Of course I am. Go on.”

Lizzie frowns in disbelief and stares at Josie for a moment, but Josie doubts anyone could tell what’s wrong with her. It’s not like Hope and Josie interact in public much.

After a second, Lizzie continues. “Sebastian looked so good in his suit last night…”

Lizzie’s words fade out almost as soon as she starts speaking. Josie is so focused on Hope that she can’t even bring herself to feel guilty about not listening. Even her ears have their attention on the sound of Hope’s laughter.

How can someone look so broken one night and laugh like that the next morning?

It annoys Josie now, to notice how they’ve spent all of this time together in secret and still don’t actually know anything about each other. Is this what her crush is going to be like? Constantly craving for more from Hope and never getting it?

Josie and Lizzie step up the stairs to the bus, shifting around so they can fit inside the narrow aisle between the seats. With Lizzie in front of her, Josie doesn’t have to try to feign interest or hide the sadness on her face. She stares openly at Hope, who makes a conscious effort to not make eye contact.

At least, Josie hopes that Hope is doing this on purpose. Somehow, knowing that she has no effect on Hope at all is worse than knowing Hope hates her - but the absolute worst thing is not knowing anything at all.

“Hope.” Josie stops in front of where Hope and Penelope are sitting.

Both Penelope and Lizzie look at Josie like she’s crazy, but they eventually cast their attention away. Hope, on the other hand, still won’t even spare Josie a glance.

“Don’t talk to me.” Hope says.

“But I-“

“Seriously, Josie.” Hope’s lips twitch down into a frown, her voice growing firm. “ _Don’t_.”

Josie’s heart sinks at the tone of Hope’s voice. It’s lower than normal, but it lacks the energy that usually comes with Hope’s anger. It’s worse than anything Josie has ever heard before.

She hasn’t just pissed Hope off, she’s _hurt_ her.

Josie nods sadly and begins walking again, feeling as if she’s putting an ocean between them with every step that she takes. She sits beside Lizzie silently, fighting the urge to cry in front of everyone. She tries to keep her focus off the slow tremble in her breath, tries to put her attention on the upcoming competition.

“Josie…” Lizzie whispers, obviously concerned. The worry in her voice makes Josie’s throat close up dangerously.

“Can we talk about it later?” Josie asks, shifting until she can press her side into Lizzie’s for comfort.

Lizzie nods. “Ready for Sectionals?”

“Ready for Sectionals.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tweets/comments have been super sweet and I love reading them, thank u all :)


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t trying to write Raf/Landon last chapter but maybe if that’s what y’all want ???

“Okay, so for the boys we’re going to have Ethan, Landon, Sebastian, and Raf in a room. Kaleb and MG will room with me.” Alaric explains, reading off a list on his phone. “And for the girls, we’ll have Penelope, Maya, Hope, and Josie. Lizzie and Dana will have their own room.”

While the boys see no problem with their rooms and leave to go gather their keys, all of the girls begin to make argumentative noises, expressing similar concerns.

“I’m not rooming with that bitch.” Lizzie says, outraged.

“I don’t want to be with _her_.” Dana agrees. “She probably snores.”

Josie nods. “I always room with Lizzie.”

Alaric puts up his hands to quiet them down, trying to hush their complaints since they’re all still standing in the motel’s lobby. He manages to silence them, but that doesn’t stop the frustrated glares they aim at him.

“I’ve noticed you’ve all been having some problems with each other and I want it to end. We’re supposed to be a team, so try to bond. Okay?” He raises his eyebrows for confirmation.

As Alaric’s eyes swim over them, Josie ducks her head to avoid his gaze. She knows that he looks to her for reassurance and could change his mind if she was really against the idea, but Josie isn’t totally sure if she wants to switch rooms. It’s nothing against Lizzie, but being stuck with the Cheerios would give her more of a chance to reconcile with Hope.

They may not be friends, but Josie can’t go on feeling so much guilt. She totally wrecked Hope’s relationship. Though it was unintentional, she doubts Hope sees it that way.

“Okay.” Josie agrees and picks up her bag.

Lizzie gasps, holding a hand to her chest dramatically. “Traitor.”

Josie shrugs as she goes to get her key. She can deal with her sister’s anger, it’s nowhere near as heavy as the guilt. Josie wordlessly takes one of the keys from her dad and climbs up the stairs, following the same path she had seen the boys take to their rooms.

The key she took has a bolded, white twenty-two on it. Josie focuses on counting the numbers, vaguely registering the thump of girls following behind her. She swears she can feel at least three glares burning through her skull, but she gets the sense none of them are Hope’s, and so she keeps on walking until she’s standing in front of room twenty-two.

She _will_ get Hope’s attention, one way or another.

Josie puts the key in the lock and twists, getting the door slightly open before Penelope rudely pushes past her. Maya comes in through the doorway second, followed by Hope, though the two of them make an effort not to touch Josie. It stings, watching Hope tilt her body away to purposely avoid her.

When did this happen? Josie used to brush Hope off like she was nothing, even when Hope was quite literally screaming in her face. Now, Hope barely looks at her and Josie feels as if someone has dropped Thor’s hammer on her chest.

(Lizzie might have distracted her on the bus with Marvel comic books.)

Josie steps into the room, closing the door behind her as she enters. It’s a simple, cheap room, with beige walls and a rust-colored carpet. Everything about it is glaringly average, but with two beds, three Cheerios, and one idiotic teenage girl inside, it feels as if it’s about to be a crime scene.

Maya and Penelope immediately claim the bed closest to the door, tangling themselves together so tightly on the sheets that Josie has to look away from their intimacy.

Looking away quickly turns into looking at Hope, who actually meets her eyes this time. Hope is sitting on the edge of the other bed, already untying her shoelaces. She looks at Josie with such a distinct lack of emotion that it almost feels like Josie is having a staring match with a wall instead of a human being.

Josie gulps down a boulder and pushes her bag further up on her shoulder, walking over to join Hope.

“No way, Saltzman.” Hope stops her, pushing a pillow into Josie’s stomach before she can get on the bed. “You’re sleeping on the floor. I can’t have you trying to screw me in my sleep.”

Penelope laughs cruelly from across the room and Josie stiffens. She decides right then and there that she isn’t going to let them go backwards. They can pause or take a break or keep on going with the silent treatment, but they will _not_ go back to Josie living under Hope’s shoe.

Josie pushes the pillow away from herself. “If you need to keep me on the floor to stop yourself from having sex with me, then I think you’re the one with the problem.”

The line of Hope’s jaw bulges as she clenches her teeth in anger, her eyes shining with more emotion than Josie has gotten from her all day. Hope says nothing, but she scoots to the side in reluctant acceptance. Satisfied, Josie sets down her bag and crawls up the bed to rest her head on the pillows.

The next few minutes are some of the most uncomfortable moments Josie has ever experienced. Josie isn’t used to sharing a room with someone other than her sister. She finds it a lot harder to nap when she isn’t totally sure she won’t be murdered in her sleep.

Penelope and Maya, on the other hand, seem all too comfortable with sharing a room and bed. Josie grows more and more tense with every high-pitched giggle that comes from their side of the room, while Hope appears to have become deaf.

Is this how Hope deals with her best friends obviously being romantically involved? Extreme denial?

“We’re going to shower.” Penelope announces. The bed creaks as they get off of it and Josie registers what she just said.

“ _We’re_?” Josie asks, dumbly. “Like, together?”

“Yes. Do you have a problem?” Penelope questions. Her glare isn’t as terrifying as Hope’s (it lacks genuine rage), but it’s still enough to make Josie falter.

“No.”

Once Penelope and Maya get their clothes, the bathroom door shuts, leaving Hope and Josie alone. Sort of. If Josie focuses, she can still hear noises coming from the shower.

She tries not to focus.

Josie drums her fingers on her stomach, wondering what she should do for the next few hours. They don’t have to be there for the competition until nighttime and it’s barely noon, so they have hours of free time. She supposes it would be a good idea to sleep until she has to wake up, but the weight of Hope’s body on the edge of the bed keeps her up.

This could be her only chance to speak to Hope alone all weekend.

“Hope?” Josie calls her name softly.

Hope’s shoulders raise a quarter of an inch, her hands stilling where they’ve been tying her laces for a solid three minutes now. No words leave Hope’s mouth, but at least Josie knows from the simple action that Hope heard her.

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry.” Josie continues, trying to be as gentle as possible. “I didn't mean to break up you and Landon or anything.”

“Stop.” Hope breathes, the single word looking like it takes all of her energy to push out.

“I just-“

“I said _stop_.” Hope twists around, finally facing Josie with none of the anger that Josie thought she would see. Instead, Hope just appears sad. “I don't want to talk to you right now. Go to sleep or something.”

Sadness is so much worse than anger. At least with anger Josie would know what to do (cower and duck her head, don’t allow it to hurt too much) but _sadness_? This emotion claws at her insides, makes her ache with guilt, and fills Josie’s mind with the constant image of Hope’s beaten down expression.

She swallows hard, her saliva like poison in her throat. Josie sits back on the pillows, facing the ceiling, wishing that it would fall down and crush her.

When she shuts her eyes, the darkness that envelops her vision feels like the kindest gift the world has given her all weekend.

_Josie tilts her head down, trailing her eyes from her cheerleading uniform to her white tennis shoes. Her vision blurs, the sound of a fan whirring loudly in her ears, and Josie lifts her head to look ahead at Hope._

_Hope’s smile comes sweeter than sugar, beckons Josie forward with pearly white teeth and plump, inviting lips._

_Josie leans in._

_All she sees is dark fog on the edges of the world around her, but Hope is solid and warm in front of her. Two hands slip under her uniform, pushing their bodies flush against each other. Josie arches into the touch needily, already drunk on the hot press of tongue she’s getting._

_One hand trails up, carefully scratching over delicate ribs and running along a naked collarbone. The hand encircles Josie’s neck, fingers settling on her pulse. The touch grows firm, the pressure building up until Josie realizes that Hope is choking her._

_Her throat aches so deliciously that a whimper escapes her mouth._

_“Please.”_

_Hope laughs cruelly, pushing her away before Josie has a chance to say another word. There are spots in her eyes when they break away from each other, but when she tumbles down all she can really see is Hope._

_And she falls, falls, falls._

“Josie.”

Josie wakes up to Hope standing very closely over her and panics, trying to squirm away. She flails to the side on instinct alone, muttering something unintelligible about cheerleading and choking. Hope grabs her by the wrists to still her. Only then does Josie calm down, looking around the room to check their surroundings.

They’re alone.

Hope is not only on the bed with her, but on top of her - pinning her down.

Josie begins to squirm again, this time for another reason entirely. Gasoline meets a spark in her stomach the second she tries to twist sideways and realizes that Hope is strong enough to keep her in place.

“Why are you on top of me?” Josie asks, her pulse pounding ridiculously hard against Hope’s palms.

“You were making noise.” Hope explains with a little shrug. “Pen and Maya went out for lunch. You’re disrupting my attempt at finishing any homework.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

The silence stretches on from there. Josie’s face heats, her skin probably turning a viscous shade of red. She watches Hope’s eyes narrow suspiciously and warms up more, silently praying Hope will get off without embarrassing Josie any further.

Josie licks her chapped lips, her nerves threatening to swallow her whole. Hope’s gaze seems to follow the movement for a short second before she releases Josie.

“Bad dream?” Hope questions, leaning away but not getting off of Josie’s body.

Hope’s leaning only shifts her weight back, aiming it all on the bottom of Josie’s stomach and her crotch in a way that has her shutting her eyes tightly and turning her hands to fists.

“Yeah.” Josie confirms. Her voice comes out a lot squeakier than she would like it to.

“Well, you’re ruining my work.” Hope tells her pointedly, finally getting up.

“Sorry. I don’t sleep well alone.”

Josie is going to say something else, but suddenly Hope’s hands are back on her. Hope begins to push Josie’s body to the side, rolling Josie over until there is enough room for the both of them. There’s a moment of shifting and sheet pulling, and then Josie feels a warm body at her side.

Her heartbeat abruptly picks up the speed of a hummingbird.

“Wait. I thought you were mad at me.” Josie says, her confusion doing nothing to stop all of her focus going to the arm snaking itself around her waist.

Is Hope… _spooning_ her?

“I am.” Hope replies.

“Then why are you…” Josie trails off, not trusting herself with words when Hope’s chin slots into a sensitive spot between her shoulder and neck.

“No more talking.” Hope somehow still gets that head cheerleader force into her tone, even through a yawn. “I can’t do my homework with you making noise and you can’t sleep on your own, like a normal person. Don’t be weird.”

Don’t be weird.

Don’t be weird.

Don’t be weird.

Hope exhales, sending her warm breath over Josie’s neck. It scorches the skin there, burns so intensely that Josie bites down on her tongue hard enough to taste blood.

She’s definitely being weird.

—————

When Josie wakes up, it’s to a considerably less warm room than when she fell asleep. The body at her side is gone completely, Josie doesn’t even see Hope in the room anymore. She blinks through her confusion, wondering if all of that was just something that threaded into her dream.

Hope Mikaelson cuddling with her seems high on the list of things that will never happen, right along with Marilyn Monroe coming back from the dead to confess her eternal love for Josie.

Still, a girl can dream - and that’s probably exactly what Josie did, _dream_.

“Did you…” Josie frowns at the extra pillow in her bed and the suspicious way Maya is smiling at her. “Throw a pillow at me?”

“You were going to oversleep.” Maya shrugs. Josie searches her face for any malice and, when she finds none, she hesitantly smiles back.

“Thanks.”

Josie’s blurry vision clears, most of her grogginess wearing off. She finally takes note of her surroundings and the time. They have a little over an hour before they need to leave for the competition and it looks like Penelope and Maya are already ready. Guessing by the faint rustling coming from the bathroom, Hope is probably in the shower.

Josie pulls herself together quickly, not totally comfortable being vulnerable in front of two Cheerios who still hate her. Actually, Maya might not care that much about her, but that doesn’t mean Josie is going to trudge around in her pajamas with them anytime soon.

She busies herself with getting her outfit and some deodorant out of her bag. That takes all of ten seconds and then Josie is left with the slightly more difficult task of trying to pretend she doesn’t hear Penelope and Maya’s conversation.

“That bitch better not be using up all of the shampoo.” Penelope complains, seemingly trying to glare holes through the bathroom door.

“Don’t call Hope a bitch behind her back.” Maya chastises her. “She’s our friend.”

Penelope shakes her head. “I love her to death, but she’s a bitch, and she uses shampoo like she has three heads or something.”

As if on cue, Hope emerges from the bathroom in a towel. Steam curls around her body, humidity leaking into the room. Josie feels the heat down to her soul, the blush sweeping through her body hard at the sight of Hope’s bare skin.

_Focus on the dress,_ Josie tells herself. She grips the black fabric harder, running her thumb over the thick red band around the waist to distract herself.

“Hope, you’re a bitch.” Penelope announces. Maya promptly hits her with a pillow and she winces, trying to shield herself with her hands. “You said not to say it behind her back. Now she knows.”

“Wow, thanks.” Hope grumbles, her voice entirely too low and her skin too pink from the shower for Josie to not notice.

Why does Hope never wear clothes? Are the Mikaelsons secretly nudists or something?

“You guys are ridiculous.” Maya complains, giving the mirror a weird look while she fixes her mascara.

Josie is hyper-aware of them leaving her out of their conversation and tries to stay completely silent as she stands up. It seems like a good idea to use the bathroom while it’s free.

She manages to get inside the restroom without bumping into Hope or making any connection with her at all, but her attempts at distance mean nothing as soon as the door shuts. Roses attack her senses, the sweet smell overly strong since it’s bottled in the room. Every inhale forces the scent deep into Josie’s nose, makes it feel as if Hope is standing right next to her.

Josie tries to catch her breath, but the air is thick and warm with steam and Hope’s presence. If she shuts her eyes tightly enough there are phantom hands on her skin. They brush over places where Hope has touched and places where Hope hasn’t, but _god_ , Josie wants them to.

Damn it. This whole ‘having a crush’ thing is already eating into her shower time.

Josie peels off her shirt and moves to stand in front of the clouded mirror. It’s discolored with steam, so she can’t really see herself, but there’s a message written in the condensation.

_Good luck on DROMP :) - HM_

Josie blinks, stares at the letters and her own foggy reflection.

DROMP?

Oh.

Don’t Rain On My Parade, Josie’s opening solo. Her stomach twists at the reminder that she’ll be carrying the team through one-third of their songs. The knot inside of her only tightens further when she tries to imagine Hope, naked and fresh out of the shower, sliding her fingers across the mirror to write this for Josie.

Her heart warms unexpectedly. Maybe Hope isn’t as mad at her as Josie thought.

Josie gets done with her shower faster than usual, making the smart decision to not bother with washing her hair until tomorrow, and dresses behind the comfort of a closed door. By the time she steps back out into the room to do her makeup, the message on the mirror is only alive in her memory.

“Well, you-“ Hope’s mouth shuts abruptly, the whole room falling silent now that Josie is inside of it.

She glances between them all uncomfortably, getting the strong sense that they were talking about her less than a second ago.

When Josie looks at Hope, the other girl rapidly glances away and tilts her head up to the ceiling.

Strange.

“I’m going to go to Lizzie’s room.” Josie tells them, not enjoying the sudden awkward energy. She grabs her makeup bag in silence and leaves without looking at any of them again.

Once Josie has made her hasty escape and is standing outside of the room, she hears their conversation start to pick up again through the door. She tries to hear what they’re saying by shamelessly pressing her ear up against the wood, but all she hears is muffled voices and French-ya.

_French-ya?_

Freya.

That peaks Josie’s interest, but she really can’t hear much and she begins to feel a bit guilty about eavesdropping, so she goes to find her sister.

Thankfully, Lizzie seems happy to see her.

“Thank god. If I spent another minute alone with Dana, I would’ve pulled out my hair.” Lizzie tugs Josie into a bear hug and drags her into the room.

Josie is glad that Lizzie doesn’t seem to be mad at her about choosing a room with the Cheerios. She’s also glad to find that Dana is busy doing something in the bathroom and they won’t have to interact with her.

“Why haven’t you done your makeup yet?” Lizzie asks, already handing Josie a miniature mirror and pushing her towards the bed. “Dad will kill us if we’re not ready.”

“I didn’t want to do it in there. It’s sort of like I’m rooming with a pack of hyenas.” Josie explains. She smiles at Lizzie’s laughter and scoots over so her sister can join her on the bed.

They’re supposed to look like a team, so Josie doesn’t want to stand out too much. She figures that some lip gloss and light mascara will work out fine.

“Speaking of hyenas, what was that thing with Hope on the bus?” Lizzie questions, very unsubtly leaning closer.

Josie had been expecting her to ask that, but it still makes her tense up to actually hear the words aloud.

“It’s nothing.” Josie responds calmly, picking up her lip gloss. “I just have a tiny, tiny little crush on Hope now.”

“ _What?_ ”

The lip gloss ends up smeared across Josie’s left cheek, a lot farther from her mouth than Josie would have liked.

Lizzie looks as if someone hit her with a truck and then circled back around to drop a bomb on her head.

“It’s not a big deal.” She rushes to explain. Josie focuses on cleaning the gloss off her skin, the expression on Lizzie’s face doing nothing to calm her nerves. “I know it’s stupid, but we just keep doing stuff in the bathrooms and-“

“ _Stuff?_ ” Lizzie yells and Josie clamps a hand over her sister’s mouth, her face burning.

“Non-sexual stuff.”

“Still.” Lizzie stresses. “Hope ‘the Homophobe’ Mikaelson? What happened to you liking Landon?”

Josie shrugs, avoiding Lizzie’s eyes. “I’m a teenager. I’m fickle.”

Eventually, Lizzie settles down enough that Josie can properly explain everything that’s been happening over the past few months. She tells Lizzie almost every detail, except for the ones that definitely don’t need to be shared or seem too intimate to be spoken aloud.

Wow, she has _intimacy_ with Hope. Maybe this entire school year has been a dream.

“So, let me get this straight.” Lizzie pauses, taking a moment to absorb all of the information. “You have a crush on Molly Ringwald’s unholy twin sister and, for some unknown reason, you thought it would be a good idea to dance with her boyfriend?”

“I wasn't thinking.” Josie shrugs.

Now that she’s done with her makeup, all that’s left to do is fiddle with her hands while Lizzie tries to put the pieces together.

“And you two have bathroom rendezvouses?” Lizzie continues.

“Yes.”

“And you cuddled a couple hours ago?”

“Yes.”

“And she draws naked pictures of you?”

“Sometimes, yes.” Josie nods, not really sure where Lizzie is going with this.

She folds her legs under herself, honestly more worried with how long Dana is taking in the bathroom than with Lizzie’s sudden pacing. They probably have to leave within the next five minutes or so.

Lizzie finally comes to a stop in front of her, appearing a lot more crazed than Josie would like.

“Have you ever thought that maybe Hope is a little gay?” Lizzie asks seriously.

Josie laughs, not bothering to try and contain the noise. “That’s ridiculous.”

Lizzie frowns and opens her mouth like she’s on the verge of explaining something to Josie, but once the bathroom door opens and Dana comes out to join them they both fall silent. Of course, that doesn’t stop Lizzie from giving Josie _the look_ , the one that says that they’re definitely going to talk about all of this later.

“We should go.” Josie says, before Dana and Lizzie have the chance to get into an argument.

Somehow, Josie manages to get them both out the door without killing each other. She releases a breath once they meet up with the others in the parking lot and she’s no longer caught between Lizzie and Dana’s heated glare session.

While Josie stands behind Hope in line for the bus, she tries to consider what Lizzie said. She sees how Lizzie could misinterpret everything Hope has done as somewhat romantic, in a childish, pulling pigtails type of way, but this is _Hope_.

Hope is the straightest person Josie knows.

Still, Josie can’t help but stare at the back of Hope’s head for a solid minute, as if the word _gay_ will magically leak through Hope’s hair and give Josie an answer.

“You’re breathing on my neck.” Hope comments, seemingly out of nowhere, and Josie leans back.

Josie hadn’t noticed she had gotten that close.

“Sorry.” Josie mumbles, embarrassed.

“It’s fine.” Hope replies, stepping up onto the bus. She has her head turned when she says it, which means most of Hope’s attention isn’t on walking properly, and her foot slips a little on the steps.

Josie panics and catches her unnecessarily, putting her hand on Hope’s waist to steady her. Her palm lingers there for a second, but she eventually pulls her hand back to her side when she knows Hope won’t fall over.

“Thanks.” Hope’s voice leaves her mouth slightly breathier than usual.

Josie is just glad Hope doesn’t seem so sad or angry with her anymore.

“No problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry, I’ve seen the comments and yes, Jade will be in the next chapter. I’ll also be replying to all of the comments soon :)


	21. Chapter 21

The theater is still brightly lit when they get there, the lights turned up to their highest setting so people can find their seats. They walk down a broad aisle towards the stage, following closely after Alaric as he guides them to the row he’d reserved.

Josie can’t help but feel some childish wonderment at being here. A few months ago, Joisie had never really been a part of anything except a slushie routine, and now she’s miles away from her hometown, part of an actual team. Her excitement only grows when the lights dim suddenly and she has to squint a bit while sliding into her seat beside Hope.

“I can’t believe dad got us seats in front of Vocal Adrenaline.” Lizzie complains, taking the other seat next to Josie. “We’re going last. They’re going to be breathing down our necks for three performances.”

“It’ll be fine.” Josie reassures her.

The row of teenagers behind her in blue jackets makes her uneasy, but she can’t focus on that right now. If anything should unsettle her, it’s the fact that they could not make it in the top three and not get a chance at going to Regionals.

Vocal Adrenaline is definitely going to take first place and she is expecting the Dalton Academy Warblers to come in second, but everyone else has a fair shot at third.

Lizzie sighs, adjusting her dress with one last glance at the other team. “Show choir nerds should _not_ be this intimidating.”

Thankfully, Lizzie is forced to stop talking about a minute later when the Warblers take the stage. They’re an all male group, from a cushy private school Josie has only ever seen in passing. They wear red and blue uniforms and all have ridiculously gelled hair, but they do an amazing job of adding boy band charm to a Katy Perry song.

Josie bounces her knee rapidly, her nerves getting the better of her while she watches them perform.

She suddenly feels as if they haven’t practiced nearly enough. Dana has only come to a handful of meetings, Landon still lacks the ability to tell his left from his right when dancing, and Rafael’s voice is wonderful but working around the wheelchair has proved to be difficult.

“You’re giving me twin anxiety.” Lizzie whispers, leaning into Josie’s side.

“Sorry.”

Josie fiddles with her fingers for a moment, until she catches Lizzie’s glare again. She sighs, setting her hands loosely in her lap and trying to sink further in her seat. She wants nothing more than to be lost in the crowd, or to at least get a better seating arrangement. Having Lizzie on her right and Hope on her left only serves to up her anxiety, and make her feel as if she’s being stared at from all angles.

Seriously, _all_ angles. Josie swears that she can feel a pair of eyes digging into the nape of her neck.

After another long, uncomfortable second, Josie twists around in her seat to see who’s watching her. She spots the person quickly enough. Jade St. James is sitting directly behind Josie, staring unashamedly at her.

Josie pinks under the direct attention, but Jade doesn’t bother to look away. In fact, Jade smirks at her so obviously that Josie squeaks, sounding like a full-grown mouse.

Feeling embarrassed for even looking back in the first place, Josie rushes to turn around. It does nothing to kill the feeling that all of the eyes in the world are on her. Even while facing the stage, she can still see Jade’s catlike smile in her mind.

Doesn’t the cat usually eat the mouse?

Josie feels the sudden warmth of another person near her neck. She tenses, already intimidated by the simple act of Jade breathing.

“Wow, with you in that dress we might actually have some competition.” A voice _purrs_ behind her.

Josie’s lips part in surprise, her body heating up at the unexpected attention.

Despite having seen and felt Jade’s presence beforehand, she’s totally unprepared to be openly flirted with by another girl, especially when she’s still sandwiched between Hope and Lizzie.

“Oh, uh.” Josie glances to her right and left nervously, her blush bone deep. “Thanks.”

Lizzie has already noticed the interaction and is in the middle of subtly (obviously) trying to catch Josie’s attention with her eyes, while Hope appears to have not heard anything at all. Josie searches Hope’s face for a reaction, but Hope’s eyes are set firmly on the stage.

“I know a few ways you could really thank me.” Jade quips, giggling moments later at the shocked little noise Josie releases.

Apparently, Josie isn’t the best at being subtle either, if her not-so-quiet squeaks are anything to go by. They’re drawing attention to themselves now and Josie is only getting redder by the minute, all thoughts of the competition gone as she tries to process the sudden onslaught of flirting.

Multiple people have noticed. Lizzie’s surprised (but also slightly disgusted) face serves as evidence.

Josie sinks in her seat, a little uncomfortable and a lot flattered, and cautiously casts a glance to her left. All she can see is the edge of Hope’s auburn hair, so she tentatively leans forward an inch until she can get a glimpse of Hope’s face. Hope’s jaw is set in a hard line that is really quite attractive, her expression incredibly cold but her skin practically producing its own steam.

If Josie is a mouse and Jade is a cat, then Hope is a dragon with razor sharp teeth and poisonous breath.

Jade leans forward again. “So-“

“Okay, you can back off now Pervy St. James.” Hope spins around abruptly, her knee bumping roughly into Josie’s with the force.

Josie is too caught up in the interaction to wince. Her eyes dart between Hope’s deadly glare and Jade’s carefree, cocky expression. The last time someone looked at Hope like that, it was Jed in the hallway.

They all know how that went.

“It’s Jade.” She corrects finally, leaning back only slightly.

It must not be enough distance to satisfy Hope, because before Josie can blink Hope is sitting up in her seat and trying to push Jade further back into the chair. Jade doesn’t go easily, and suddenly both girls are more focused on hitting than pushing each other.

“Hope, stop.” Josie hisses. Several people have now turned their heads to watch the encounter. “You’re being rude.”

Josie wishes she could die right now. She can barely deal with some public flirting, how is she supposed to cope with Hope almost jumping over her seat to attack someone in front of hundreds of people. Josie panics as people start to take their eyes off the stage to watch the encounter.

They’re going to get kicked out. That’s all Josie is thinking when she grabs Hope around the waist and hauls her back into her seat.

“Can you please act your age?” Josie whispers harshly, still not letting go of Hope.

“I’m acting my age.” Hope replies, sounding slightly whiny and annoying, but also a lot more adorable than Josie ever thought possible.

Josie rolls her eyes. She hesitates but starts to release Hope, only for Hope to twist slightly in her seat a second later. Josie grabs Hope again, this time by her wrists.

“Get off.” Hope squirms enough that Josie’s hands slip up to Hope’s palms, and before she can process what’s happening their fingers are laced.

Josie is holding Hope’s hand. In _public_.

Josie’s gaze drops to where their hands are intertwined, her eyes catching on the glint of the many rings that adorn Hope’s fingers. She can feel the slight chill of the jewelry against her skin, a sharp contrast from Hope’s seemingly endless warmth.

Hope pulls her hand away like she’s been burned and this time Josie allows her to, feeling equally embarrassed about the action.

Pins and needles prick at the lines of her palms, goosebumps visible all along her inner arm. Josie wills them to go away, cursing herself for being so awkward and overwhelmed by the smallest things.

“I wasn't rude.” Hope insists, her stubbornness barely clearing up the tension.

“Yes you were.”

Hope scoffs. “Well, she was trying to sike out the competition.”

“Is it so unbelievable that someone could actually like me?” Josie asks in a whisper, her voice as gentle as a breeze.

No answer comes and Josie clenches her hands into fists, whatever tingle Hope left disappearing and being replaced by a firm coldness.

The Warblers are done by now, the stage empty and dark while the next team prepares to perform. Josie is glad to have the lights off for a moment, it gives her a chance to collect herself before they’re turned on again.

Eventually, Alaric ushers them all up out of their seats and leads them back down the aisle. They quietly go backstage while Vocal Adrenaline performs, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves - though it would be hard to take attention away from V.A. doing an insanely energized version of Highway To Hell.

There are mirrors set up backstage and chairs to lounge around in, so everyone anxiously begins to sit while V.A. rolls into their second song.

Josie stands in front of one of the mirrors, distracting herself by checking her mascara about twenty times in a row. It looks perfect the first time she checks, but that doesn’t stop her from going through the other nineteen times.

After a minute, Josie sort of wishes that she never looked at her reflection at all, but the mirror is the only thing that provides any warning for when Hope walks up behind her.

“Someone could like you.” Hope says, because she’s _Hope_ and she doesn’t know the word hello.

Josie watches Hope out of the corner of her eye, trying to appear unaffected by Hope standing at her side. In reality, her heart is trembling at just the sight of Hope and shaking violently at Hope’s unexpected words.

“Hello to you, too.” Josie greets.

Hope’s reflection smiles before she repeats herself. “Someone could like you.”

The words come more firmly this time and Josie sighs, knowing she can’t avoid them. She’s not sure why she even asked Hope about it in the first place, but now it’s out there. Josie looks past their reflections, seeing that everyone else is relatively far away, and wonders if them being (sort of) alone will bring out Hope’s kindness.

“You don’t make me feel like it.” Josie admits finally.

If Hope is thrown off by the honesty, she doesn’t show it. Hope’s expression doesn’t change one bit, but she steps close enough that Josie can feel Hope’s body heat on her arm.

Hope bumps Josie with her hip. “No pity parties. If you go out there feeling pathetic then we’ll lose, and I’m not going to let you make me a loser.”

“Is this your idea of a pep talk?” Josie asks.

She turns to face Hope, her composure already slipping. Listening to Hope talk about her being pathetic and a loser isn’t exactly cheering her up, especially before the competition.

“No.” Hope frowns. “I’m trying to cheer you up. Don’t be a bitch about it.”

Now she’s pathetic, a loser, _and_ a bitch.

“You’re terrible at this.”

“I’m not terrible at anything.” Hope protests, her competitive nature very clearly coming out to play. “I give great pep talks.”

Josie raises her eyebrows, unimpressed. “No you don’t.”

Vocal Adrenaline is halfway through their third song and Ethan, Rafael, and MG are starting to group together behind the curtains. Josie decides that talking to Hope before their performance is doing nothing but making her feel worse, so she steps away to go and join them.

Hope reaches out, her hands circling Josie’s wrists before Josie can leave. Josie barely manages to suppress a gasp at the sudden contact. Her first thought is that she should be trying to break away, but Hope’s grip is surprisingly gentle.

“Someone could like you.” Hope repeats for the third time. “You’re a good singer and you’re not ugly.”

Josie pauses, squinting down at Hope. She hadn’t been expecting the compliments, but she still doesn’t think Hope is great at cheering people up. _Not ugly_ doesn’t really win any compliment awards.

“Thank you.” Josie replies slowly, not sounding convincing in the slightest.

Why is Hope still holding her?

Hope looks up at the ceiling, the pinch between her eyebrows letting Josie know she’s annoyed.

“You’re not cheered up. You’re still pathetic.” Hope mutters. It sounds as if she’s speaking to herself, but Josie hears it anyways.

“Wow, okay.” Josie pulls her wrists away from Hope’s hands.

Somehow, Hope figured out a way to make Josie feel worse. It must be a super power of hers.

“Wait. I didn’t mean to…” Hope trails off.

This time, hands don’t hold Josie in place. What holds her in place is the hint of desperation on Hope’s face, this new emotion that Josie has never seen on the other girl.

“You’re a really good person, Josie. Better than me. I can see why he’d choose you.” Hope smiles sadly.

Josie’s brain tries to come up with a response, but Hope steps away and goes to stand with the others before Josie can get a word out. Her whole body aches, the strong urge to grab Hope and drag her to whatever bathroom they can find setting in.

Has anyone ever told Hope how to have a conversation that isn’t incredibly confusing and vague?

Who is _he_? Landon? Josie hasn’t even spoken to the boy since homecoming. He definitely isn’t choosing her.

“Josie?” Alaric frantically gestures for her to come over. “What are you doing? You’re singing first.”

“Sorry.” Josie rushes to stand with the rest of the team, politely pushing past everyone until she’s in position.

The show must go on.

—————

“Let’s drink!” Sebastian cheers loudly as they all crowd into the boy’s room.

Josie has no idea how Sebastian convinced everyone that they should start a tradition of drinking after winning a competition, but she figures that she can blame it on the high she’s currently riding.

They actually got third place. They get to go on.

“Calm down.” Penelope hisses, slapping his chest. “Mr. Saltzman is literally right next door.”

Sebastian quiets down only slightly and shuts the door once everyone has piled into the small room. He kneels down in front of the one of the bags in the corner and starts chanting _shots, shots, shots,_ under his breath, handing out a measly amount of tiny vodka bottles you would find in a hotel mini fridge.

The last thing he takes out of his bag is a bigger bottle, which Hope steals in a manner of seconds. Sebastian tries to complain, but Hope silences him with a single look and crawls up on the bed between Penelope and Maya.

Since everyone is caught up in the excitement of winning the competition and alcohol, Josie is free to stare openly at Hope.

She feels a bit disappointed that they ended up on different beds, but she isn’t surprised. All of the Cheerios and football players (besides MG) have gone to the left, while everyone else is clumped together on the right.

What does surprise her is the way Hope seems to already have downed a quarter of the bottle, while everyone else has barely started drinking.

“You’re staring.” Lizzie whispers as she hands Josie one of the mini bottles.

Josie ignores her sister, finding that drinking is the perfect distraction. She downs every bottle that she can get her hands on while Ethan and Rafael make jokes with MG about some show Josie can’t be bothered to watch.

As she drinks more and more, it becomes a lot harder to keep her eyes off of Hope. Around her fourth drink, she stops worrying about how much she sees Hope drinking and focuses on just watching Hope. Hope tilts her head back with every sip, the pale stretch of her throat exposed and her jawline bulging with every swallow.

Lizzie nudges Josie, getting her attention. “I thought you didn’t like drinking.”

“We’re celebrating.” Josie replies. When she waves her sister off, her hand moves a bit slower than she meant it to.

She’s probably not that drunk.

“We should play spin the bottle.” Sebastian suggests, pitching his voice louder so everyone can hear him.

That sounds like a horrible idea. Josie is in no mood to kiss anyone in the room right now. If she’s going to kiss Hope, she doesn’t want it to be in front of ten other people. Plus, spin the bottle opens up too many possibilities. Josie could end up with Maya’s tongue in her mouth, which would probably end with Penelope kicking her ass.

Still, Josie considers playing, mostly because she spots MG’s anxious glance towards Lizzie.

“Ew, no.” Penelope makes the decision for all of them. “The last time we did that, I had to see Hope and Landon kiss. Horrifying.”

Landon makes an annoyed noise, clearly still shaken up about their breakup, but Hope has no reaction at all. For once, no one pays attention to Hope. While Landon and Penelope begin to argue, Hope slips off the side of the bed and walks out of the room without saying a word to anyone.

Only Josie seems to notice Hope being gone. In fact, it’s all Josie can think about, and it doesn’t take long for her to get up and follow after her.

The walk to their room is… interesting.

Josie really hadn’t noticed how much she had been drinking. She can’t get her feet to walk straight the entire time there and when she finally reaches the door, it takes her three tries to grab the doorknob.

There are no lights on inside, so the only thing that allows Josie to see Hope is whatever moonlight leaks in through the windows. It’s more than enough. Honestly, it’s almost too much. As soon as Josie spots Hope, kneeling on the edge of the bed with her dress half off, her stomach rolls so rapidly that she feels like a wave has knocked her over.

Josie shuts the door and enters the room as if pulled in by the tide, feeling helpless to Hope’s stare and the revealed skin.

“Need help?” Josie asks, pointing at the zipper Hope can’t seem to reach.

Hope nods, turning her back to Josie. It’s already unzipped halfway, the dress split down the middle so Hope’s shoulders are exposed. Josie rests one of her hands on Hope’s back while the other holds the zipper - not because she needs to, but because she’s weak and her fingers are greedy for any bit of contact they can get from Hope.

“Thanks.” Hope kicks the dark fabric away from herself. She crawls further up the bed, twisting her body around once she reaches the pillow.

Hope stretches slowly, arching her back up into the air and raising her arms towards the headboard in one graceful movement. Josie stares openly, completely enthralled with this little action. It almost feels as if Hope is putting on a private show for her. Josie has to remind herself that sometimes a yawn is just a yawn, no matter how badly she wants it to be something else.

“Come here.” Hope whispers, her voice a low drawl that has Josie shutting her eyes and clenching her fists to resist doing something she’ll regret.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to get on the floor? You know, to make sure I don’t try and grope you or something.” Josie quips, praying that Hope won’t notice the way she can't seem to take her eyes off of Hope’s body.

“ _Josie_.” Her name sounds like a sin leaving Hope’s mouth. “Come. Here.”

Josie knows it’s a bad idea but Hope is the tide, and Josie is as powerless as driftwood when it comes to Hope’s demanding tone. She climbs on the bed hesitantly, her movements a little sluggish. It takes her longer than she would like to admit to maneuver her body in a way where she doesn’t have to touch Hope.

“Anyways.” Hope continues. “You don’t have the balls for that. Literally. If you were Sebastian then you’d be all over me already.”

The thought of Sebastian touching Hope sends an unexpected burst of jealousy to Josie’s stomach. She feels it the way one would a blanket, settling all over her body. Josie bites the inside of her cheek and looks away from Hope, trying her best to keep herself from saying something horribly possessive.

Rationally, she has no ownership over Hope, but a voice in her head screams _mine, mine, mine_.

“I’ve never even kissed anyone before.” Josie speaks to the ceiling, her body tilted away from Hope’s.

Hope rolls over until their arms are touching and keeps on moving from there, molding to Josie’s body like she owns it. Their legs tangle together, one of Hope’s thighs slotting between Josie’s own in a way that feels everything but innocent.

“What, are you saving it for someone?” Hope holds Josie’s chin firmly, forces her to make eye contact. “Landon?”

“Maybe.”

Hope frowns, shifting around on top of Josie. Her leg accidentally nudges the dress further up Josie’s thigh, exposing more skin. Josie breathes heavily through her nose in an attempt to calm herself down. She knows if that dress goes up another inch, there’s a good chance Hope will be able to see the growing wet spot on her underwear.

Thankfully, Hope seems to have preoccupied herself by rambling.

“He’s not good at it, you know. It’s awkward, with him. Too much tongue.” Hope explains, sounding as if she’s trying to convince Josie.

Josie watches Hope’s tongue dart out to wet her mouth, the pretty pink tip of it tracing her bottom lip. Josie suddenly has no idea how there could ever be too much tongue.

“Well…” Josie squirms, trying to keep it subtle. Her heart is in her throat, blocking out any air from entering her lungs. “How much tongue is there supposed to be?”

Hope looks at her strangely. Josie waits for the punchline to come (or maybe an actual punch). She knows she’s being too obvious, that she shouldn’t bait Hope to kiss her, but it doesn’t matter anymore.

The apocalypse could begin. Zombies could pop from the ground. Cities could burn to the ground. The world could end just outside the door and everything would still be okay, as long as Hope kisses her.

“Do you want to find out?” Hope asks. She tilts her head, appearing a bit shy.

Josie nods, because she knows if she opens her mouth all that will come out is _yes, yes, please,_ and that would probably scare Hope off.

Hope exhales shakily and nods, mostly to herself, before raising herself up on her palms. Josie watches Hope’s borderline frantic actions, feeling the urge to complain for the second Hope gets off of her but humming contentedly when Hope settles back on top of her fully again.

“Don’t move.” Hope instructs, even though Josie has done nothing but stare for the last minute. “I just need to figure this out.”

That last part comes as an afterthought. Josie gets the sense that Hope is speaking to herself, but she listens to Hope’s quiet rambling anyways. It’s sort of adorable, though Josie isn’t totally sure what Hope is doing now.

_Not kissing me,_ a voice in her head pipes up. Josie ignores it, because she’s amazed that it seems as if Hope is going to kiss her at all.

Oh god.

Hope is going to kiss her.

The thought settles in much too late. It occurs to Josie that she may have actually had too much to drink, but there’s definitely nothing she can do about it now with Hope on top of her.

Josie peers up at Hope, who is wringing her hands in the air. The nerves have definitely set in and Josie finds herself chuckling awkwardly in a very bad attempt to ease the tension.

“Why does it feel like this is the moment where you hit me?” Josie questions.

She means it as a joke, but Hope’s face falls and a tiny frown forms on her mouth. Josie is going to apologize for saying anything at all, but she’s cut off when the hand that has been quietly resting on her jaw moves up across her face.

Hope trails her hand over Josie’s cheeks first, across the bridge of her nose, along her forehead, and finally down to the little bit of skin between Josie’s mouth and nose. Hope’s touch becomes lighter as she brushes her fingers over Josie’s bottom lip, treating the skin there as if it’s so delicate that it deserves nothing but love.

Under Hope’s hands, Josie feels beautiful.

“I would never hit you.” Hope promises in a whisper.

Josie’s chest swells with the sentiment, all of the air leaving her body in one swift motion. When Hope’s hand slides off her mouth, sliding down to rest gently on her neck, Josie feels herself throb in time with her heartbeat.

“Please.” Josie pleads, allowing her eyes to flutter shut as she leans into Hope.

Their lips meet softly at first, both of them careful and searching for each other in the dark, but as soon as Hope presses down with a bit more intent, light bursts behind Josie’s eyelids.

Josie opens her mouth at the first subtle swipe of Hope’s tongue. She keeps her back against the sheets, allowing Hope to lean down and _take_ her. The action drives Hope’s knee up Josie’s thighs, pulls a ridiculously high-pitched whimper from out of her throat. Josie leans her head away, trying to catch her breath and recover from the sound she just made - but it’s no use.

Once Hope hears the noise, she kisses Josie’s jaw with all of the greed in the world, coaxing quiet moans out of her. Josie keeps her eyes shut tight. For a moment, all Josie can hear is the thunder of her heartbeat and her panting, and the nearly-silent wet noises that come from Hope’s mouth on her neck.

It feels as if Josie has never experienced hunger and is now being introduced to starvation.

Josie tugs at Hope’s shoulders, intent on getting to taste Hope once again. Hope shifts at the prodding and removes her mouth from Josie’s neck, lifting herself up to hover over Josie.

When Hope breathes, it fans all across her face. Josie inhales nothing but the sharp scent of alcohol and frowns, the memory of Hope downing enough vodka to kill a horse jumping to the front of her memory. Her stomach twists without warning, several thoughts springing into her head.

What if Hope doesn’t remember this tomorrow or, worse, what if she regrets it in the morning?

What if Josie is taking advantage of her?

Sure, she knocked back a few, but Josie doesn’t think she drank nearly as much as Hope. Hope is definitely very drunk, if her recent actions are anything to go off of.

Of course, Hope only wants to kiss her when she’s hammered.

“Wait.” Josie puts her palms on Hope’s shoulders. “You’re drunk.”

Hope blinks, her eyes glossy. “So are you.”

Josie keeps her hold on Hope firm. As much as she wants to resume kissing without another thought, she can’t. She keeps on imagining Hope in the bus the next day, hating her for allowing them to do this while drunk. Tomorrow, if Hope lets her, she can kiss Hope until they both run out of air, but tomorrow is not today.

“No, we can’t.” Josie states. She sounds more sure of herself now.

Hope huffs and rolls off of her, facing the ceiling. Josie immediately feels cold at the loss of contact and the disappointed look Hope gave her, but she resists the urge to drag Hope into another kiss.

She turns on her side to look at Hope. “It’s just cause-“

“I know, I get it.” Hope’s voice comes out harsher than Josie expected and she leans away a little, feeling undeniably stung. “Whatever, Josie. Just go.”

Josie opens her mouth to protest but as soon as she does, she realizes that she’s close to tears. Shit. She definitely shouldn’t have had anything to drink tonight. To avoid openly sobbing in front of Hope, Josie crawls off the bed and stumbles out the door.

The second she closes it behind her, regret tears its way through her chest. _No._ They can talk about everything tomorrow. They _will_ talk about it.

She keeps on walking further and further from Hope, towards the stairs and away from the rooms. At first, Josie isn’t thinking, but once she is she decides it would be nice to find a vending machine and catch a breather before she has to go explain to Lizzie why she’ll be sleeping in her and Dana’s room for the night.

As Josie trudges down the stairs, she misses a step and goes barreling forward into someone.

Great.

“I’m so sorry.” Josie groans. She feels as if she might throw up with all of the liquid jostling around in her stomach.

“Don’t apologize.” Jade grins up at her. “I’ve been trying to get you on top of me all day.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been planning this chapter and the next one since I started this fic. What’d u guys think?


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: a lot of (internalized) homophobia

“I just need to figure this out.” Hope mutters quietly to herself.

It feels as if there are hornets swarming her stomach, stinging her insides relentlessly. They gathered up inside of her the second she rolled on top of Josie fully, but Hope can’t figure out if their presence is due to disgust or just plain nervousness.

That’s the problem, isn’t it? She doesn’t _know_.

The air of confusion Hope gets put in every time she so much as looks at Josie is unbearable. It’s there now, settling in her chest as she tilts her head down and wonders whether or not this whole plan is a good idea.

Surely, one kiss won’t ruin her life. Once she does it (and, more than likely, hates it), she can completely ice out the memory and move on. She is already planning out how she’ll combat this tiny, sinful act by praying everyday until her inevitable death.

Hope just needs to _know_ that she hates it.

“Why does it feel like this is the moment where you hit me?” Josie asks. The question causes Hope’s lips to tilt down into a frown.

Sometimes, Josie looks as if she’s Bambi and Hope just shot her mother. Hope hates the vulnerability in Josie’s eyes and loathes the slight hint of fear she finds in the brown. Over the years, Hope has rarely ever been kind to Josie, but she has never hit her and she never will.

The closest she’s gotten to any harmful physical contact is bumping their shoulders together in the halls, and even that sometimes rattled her rib cage enough to make her feel sick.

Hope raises her hand from Josie’s jaw and carefully drags her fingers along Josie’s cheeks. Feeling the heat there only spurs her on and soon she’s touching Josie mindlessly, suddenly unable to help herself. The feel of Josie’s skin is a surprise, every little bit of it soft enough that Hope almost feels as if she could mold it with nothing more than a pinch.

Pinching or poking seems undoubtedly wrong in this situation. Hope’s fingers move on their own, growing increasingly gentle as she touches Josie’s lips.

“I would never hit you.” Hope promises, silently marveling at how full Josie’s bottom lip is.

Her blood is scattered, every bone in her body misplaced. Josie’s mouth is supposed to be a great source of jokes, not this part of her face that now seems as delicate and pretty as a flower.

“Please.” Josie’s eyes flutter shut, her voice lovelier than any flower, and Hope leans down to comply without another second of waiting.

Hope feels nothing.

It annoys the hell out her, because she’s spent a solid week thinking about this, only to feel _nothing_. There is no sudden urge to wash away Josie’s mouth with her own vomit or to pick up the other girl and whisk her away towards the sunset on a white horse. It’s nothing but a gentle meeting of lips, no better or worse than kissing Landon.

Hope’s brain quickly registers that it may be due to the fact that they aren’t really kissing and are simply pressing their mouths together. She remembers that this is Josie’s first kiss and leans closer with a bit more intent, using her tongue to coax Josie into opening up to her.

Josie’s lips part along with her legs and Hope’s knee accidentally slips too far up, meeting an inferno. She feels Josie’s mouth leave her own and, before Hope can react, an overwhelmed whimper curls in the space between them.

Oh.

_Oh_.

Her blood reaches its boiling point, her face heating to an extreme level. Since when does Josie sound like _that_?

With the slight way Josie’s head is tilted away from her, the length of her neck is fully exposed. Hope stares at the rapid flutter of Josie’s pulse, the noise Josie just made echoing in her ears. It feels as if someone has cast a spell on her, because she’s suddenly unable to do anything other than put her mouth on Josie’s skin.

Hope thought her brain would detach from the fact that she’s kissing a girl, but it’s one of the things that jump to the front of her mind. She’s incredibly aware of the way their breasts press together, of the spreading wetness she can feel on her knee, of the distinctly feminine noises leaking from Josie’s lips.

Hope nips at a particularly soft spot on Josie’s neck, causing Josie’s pulse to throb under Hope’s tongue. A possessive voice in Hope’s head tells her to leave a dark mark, but before she can continue Josie is desperately clutching at her shoulders.

She raises herself above Josie once again, eyeing the trail of red blotches from Josie’s jaw to her collarbone.

It sparks something animalistic inside of Hope, knowing that Josie will have to walk around with such obvious marks on her neck. Maybe now, people - Jade - won’t hit on Josie, when they see that she clearly belongs to someone else.

Hope blinks hard, trying to rid the slightly sexist and possessive thought from her mind. Josie isn’t Hope’s and Hope isn’t Josie’s. What’s gotten into her?

“Wait.” Josie breathes, her fingers running over Hope’s bra straps distractingly. “You’re drunk.”

What does that have to do with anything?

“So are you.”

Hope frowns at the strange look Josie is giving her. The abrupt stop of their kissing is making reality lick at the edges of her mind, the alcohol no longer doing its job, and Hope can’t deal with anything outside of their little fantasy right now.

“No, we can’t.” Josie says firmly. Hope’s frown deepens into a scowl, but she gets off of Josie as soon as she hears the word no.

Her eyes find the ceiling immediately. Something evil burns a path through her heart, something bitter that stings like nothing else. Josie is rejecting her. Of all the possibilities that Hope had considered, this one had never come up.

She should have thought of this before.

Of course Josie doesn’t want to kiss her. Hope could be the most attractive person in the entire world and it wouldn’t matter, because in Josie’s eyes Hope is nothing but a bully. She can’t be redeemed. She deserves to be rejected honestly, with how she has treated Josie over the years and now how she is using the other girl for her experiment.

Hope swallows hard, remembering why she had done this in the first place. She liked kissing Josie. She liked kissing a _girl_ , enough to do it multiple times.

The realization burns the back of her eyes. She’s going to hell.

The mattress dips beside her while Josie shifts to face her. “It’s just cause-“

“I know, I get it.” Hope cuts her off. She can’t decide which is worse, Josie seeing her as nothing but an unredeemable monster or eternal damnation. “Whatever, Josie. Just go.”

The pain of knowing she’s going to hell and the ache that comes with being rejected begin to duke it out in her head. Hope holds her breath, fighting the urge to turn to Josie for comfort. She doesn’t have to fight for long, because Josie gets up and leaves without another word.

Rejection wins.

Is it that easy for Josie to leave her? Josie disappeared in seconds, she didn’t even try to argue.

Hope laughs wetly, unsurprised by the hot, frustrated tears that slip down her face and seep into her mouth. Of course Josie left that quickly. It’s easy to leave when Hope is such a horrible person.

An invisible hand wraps itself around Hope’s neck, blocking the air out of her lungs with its iron grip. Hope tries to catch her breath, but all she can feel is the darkness surrounding her and the rapidly fading warmth from where Josie used to lay beside her. It’s torture, being teased by Josie’s presence but not actually having her there.

Hope is abruptly hit with a second wind. She sits up and wipes the tears from her face, deciding that Josie doesn’t get to just run away. Hope stands and exits the motel room without putting her dress back on, figuring Josie couldn’t have gone far.

They’re going to talk about this, even if talking ends up boiling down to Hope insulting Josie in a bathroom.

Hope hears voices coming from the stairs and follows them, her intoxicated brain assuming that Josie is simply talking to herself. What she finds is much, much worse.

Josie is sitting on the bottom step, a familiar blue jacket draped over her shoulders while she speaks closely with the girl beside her.

Jade St. James.

Hope hides behind a pillar, moving annoyingly slow with how her heart has dropped to her feet. She leans towards them and strains her ear to listen, wondering what is so important that Jade has to tell Josie it while sitting _that_ close.

It’s a lot harder to hear with all of the voices jumbling together. Hope can barely make out what they’re saying over the sounds coming from the boy’s room. The rest of the New Directions seem to be busy drunkenly (and very, very loudly) singing a horrible version of Sweet Caroline.

“Sweet Caroline!” All of the voices sing the chorus together. Hope shuts her eyes, thinking about how long she would be in prison for mass murder. “Bum! Bum! Bum!”

Thankfully, they decide to quiet down after that, and Hope can actually hear what Jade and Josie are talking about.

“I don’t know how you guys got third place. Sweet Caroline has been hurting my ears for the last five minutes.” Jade complains.

Is Vocal Adrenaline staying in the same motel as them? Hope has to admit, the idea of accidentally running into them here has her unsettled.

Maybe she should have put back on her dress.

“Don’t be mean.” Josie giggles, bumping Jade’s shoulder unnecessarily. “They’re drunk.”

Hope shuts her mouth harshly, trying to keep the vomit from spilling out past her teeth. When she swallows all she tastes is the sharp sting of venom.

No.

She’s better than this.

Hope Mikaelson does not let herself feel this badly over a girl, especially someone as pathetic as Josie. She will _not_ let herself wallow in her sadness any longer.

Hope heads back to the room as quietly as she can, pleased to find it still empty. She crawls to the middle of the bed and tries to ignore how her first thought is that Josie’s warmth has left the sheets completely now.

Anyway, it’s a good thing. Hope can’t think about Josie while she does this.

She pushes her hand past the waistband of her underwear with a strong wave of determination, not thinking about the consequences that come with this action until a second later. Technically, masturbation is a sin, too, but she can work past it.

What she can’t work past is being gay.

Besides the fact that it would keep her from getting any peace in the afterlife, her friends would hate her. Her family would-

Hope exhales heavily, deciding that thinking about her family won’t help the process along. She needs to think about _boys_. Hope shuts her eyes and tries to picture every male she’s ever met and all of their attractive qualities. She imagines the bulge of Jed’s forearms, Sebastian’s toned torso, and Landon’s green eyes.

It sort of works.

Hope is already wet (she refuses to admit that it’s because of Josie) and her fingers slip through sensitive folds easily, but the images don’t do much for her.

It’s not because they’re boys. It’s because Jed disgusts her on a good day, Sebastian is one of her closest friends, and Landon is her ex.

She pushes on anyways, trying to picture every teen heartthrob she has heard mentioned in the locker rooms. All of them don’t fit right into her imagination. They’re either too tall or pale, or their lips seem much too thin to properly kiss. Actually, all boys mouths are suddenly misshapen in her head, because they aren’t nice and full like-

No. This can’t happen.

“ _Fuck_.” Hope breathes. She promised herself she wouldn’t do this, but here she is moaning like… like Josie.

The best thing to do would be to stop, but thinking the other girl’s name breaks the dam and Hope’s ears fill with that goddamn echo of Josie’s whimper again. It plays in her head on full blast, accompanied by the image of Josie looking up at her with such desperation that just the memory of it makes Hope throb against her own fingertips.

Has Josie always been so beautiful? Has Hope always been this pathetic?

Every memory of Josie that Hope has rises to the surface, all the words muddling together - _you have pretty eyes._ She remembers the shining white of teeth against Josie’s pretty bottom lip that night and whines helplessly.

It would feel like heaven, if there weren’t a thousand other words in her mind. Three, in particular, are louder than the rest.

_It’s a sin, it’s a sin, it’s a sin._

The words grow louder until they’re being screamed in her head, drowning out the soft curl of Josie’s voice from her memory.

Hope pulls her hand out from under her panties and carefully wipes it on the sheets beside her. It’s astonishing how quickly the shame sets in. She’s suddenly plagued by the thought that she wasn’t reaching heaven for a minute there, she was falling further and further away from it.

Hope grabs a pillow and curls up into a ball, spooning the pillow (she figures she can’t get any more pathetic). The darkness of the room does nothing to alleviate the feeling that someone has been watching her the entire night, writing down every action and ensuring her a spot in hell. She has no idea who could be stalking her, but her shoulders are tense like someone’s eyes are on her back.

Is it her father?

God?

Her body trembles with the thought, a quiet sob escaping her mouth and her nose closing up as tears slip down her face. Hope has never felt more terrified. She only welcomes sleep because it shuts out some of the fear.

As Hope’s eyelids flutter shut, she can’t help but think that her life will never right itself, because there will always be something wrong with her.

—————

**August 13th, 2017**

Hope peers out the window as soon as she hears the beeping sound of a car locking. She spots her aunt, Freya, making her way up their driveway. Freya tilts to one side while she walks, tipped by the weight of numerous grocery bags which she’s carrying all on one arm.

As Hope rushes out to greet her and help with the bags, Freya chuckles and eyes Hope’s outfit. It’s the first time Hope has worn her cheerleading uniform in front of anyone, so she does a little twirl to model it for her aunt.

“You look nice.” Freya notes, laughing again at the way Hope beams at her. “Don’t you have to get to school? You can’t be late for Orientation Day.”

“I have about an hour.” Hope responds.

She honestly has a lot less time than that, but Hope had been excited all day about getting to show Freya her uniform. Hope is pleased with Freya’s reaction and her happiness only grows when they start unpacking the groceries and she discovers two boxes of brownie mix.

“I figured we could make some after you get back from school.” Freya explains, nudging Hope to get her to move a bit faster.

Hope nods and puts the boxes away. The women in her family have been trying to get her to learn to bake since she was born (it’s part of being a good future housewife), but Freya is the only one who has ever made it fun. Maybe that’s because they always end up covered in eggs and flour after they’re done, but Hope doesn’t mind.

They finish putting away the rest of the groceries in no time. Hope is about to ask Freya if she’ll drive her to school when her parents step into the kitchen and she suddenly feels too awkward to speak.

The room falls under a blanket of tension, Freya’s smile slipping off of her face at Klaus’ angered expression. Hope knows the look he is giving her well, because she’s seen it a hundred times before and it’s usually followed by some kind of punishment.

Hope just doesn’t know why it’s being directed at her aunt.

“Mom?” Hope questions softly, looking to her mother for some answer about what’s going on.

Hayley ignores her, focusing on sorting through the cupboards for something. When Hayley takes out a wine glass and continues to search for a bottle, Hope’s heart thuds painfully. Her mom usually has a bit of wine at dinner, she doesn’t drink alcohol before noon on a Monday.

“Why don’t you go get your bag for school, honey.” Hayley instructs. Hope looks between all of the adults, her eyes finally falling on Freya, who nods shortly to let her know it’s okay to leave.

Despite getting the okay, Hope feels as if leaving is the wrong decision. Still, she can’t think of anything to do other than go up the stairs and into the hall, intending on finding her backpack. As she walks to her bedroom, she slows to a stop in front of the guest room.

Hope hesitates, frowning, but cracks open the door. The room is bare. Something heavy sets in her chest at the realization.

Why is Freya’s stuff gone?

Once Hope has her bag, she rushes to get back downstairs. Every step closer unsettles her more and more. She can hear how the voices in the kitchen are growing louder, reaching furious heights.

“Why is her stuff gone?” Hope asks, demanding an answer that doesn’t come.

Klaus storms off at her question, pushing past her and disappearing up the stairs with heavy footsteps. Freya and Hayley aren’t much help either. Hayley is busying herself with her glass of wine while Freya appears uncharacteristically fragile.

“At least let me say goodbye.” Freya requests, facing Hayley.

Hope has the urge to scream at them both and stomp her foot like a child. She resists it, but her eyes continue to bounce between them restlessly. Her mom is staring intently at the last bit of wine in her glass, swirling it around while both Hope and Freya wait for her response.

Why is no one telling her what’s going on?

“Fine.” Hayley sighs after a moment and gets the car keys out of her pocket. She tosses them to Freya and empties her glass. “Take her to school.”

Freya nods and begins to push Hope out of the kitchen. The last glimpse Hope gets of her mother is Hayley pouring herself another glass.

This time, Hope does scream.

“Why won’t you answer me?” Hope yells, breaking away from the hold Freya has on her arm.

It only angers her further when raising her voice doesn’t do anything except make Freya shut her eyes in exasperation. She immediately feels guilty about yelling at someone who seems so sad, but she is too stubborn to say sorry. Instead of apologizing, Hope allows herself to be ushered into the car.

They get out of the driveway and all the way down the street without a single word being exchanged.

“What’s wrong?” Hope prompts.

There has to be something going on. If Freya was leaving on her own terms, then they would just tell her instead of avoiding all of her questions. Hope can’t think of a reason for why they would want Freya to leave, but she knows it has to have been something bad.

“Nothing.” Freya responds. Hope opens her mouth, about to butt in, but Freya begins speaking again. “For a while I’ve felt like my life would never right itself, because there’s always been something wrong with me, but that isn’t true. The problem isn’t me.”

Hope stares blankly at her. “What the hell does that-“

“I’m gay.”

Hope’s ears must not be working properly. She rubs one absentmindedly, wondering if that will help clear up her hearing. It doesn’t. Hope is still listening to the words repeat in her head, the admission only backed up by the way Freya isn’t looking at her anymore.

Freya can’t be gay. That’s impossible.

For one thing, Freya is her favorite aunt. Sure, she swears excessively sometimes and used to show Hope R Rated horror movies when she was ten, but that doesn’t make her a sinner.

Gay people are supposed to be disgusting or perverts, but Freya isn’t like that - she’s one of the prettiest women Hope has ever seen, actually. Freya has no signs of being a lesbian (no short hair, no flannel, no strange behavior) and yet here she is, stating it very plainly and not taking it back.

“No, you’re not.” Hope shakes her head frantically. “You’re just confused. Dad will have you say some extra prayers and then they won’t kick you out.”

The car stops suddenly. When Hope looks around, she realizes that they are already in front of the school and all of the other freshmen are being welcomed through the front door. She ignores the chance to get her first glance at her classmates, too focused on how Freya still isn’t taking it back.

“I don’t want to pray it away.” Freya admits.

Hope sucks in a sharp breath. If Freya won’t take it back, then she’ll end up in hell. The thought of her aunt spending her afterlife being tortured by flames makes Hope sick, but she can’t argue with facts. She doesn’t understand any of this. Why won’t Freya fight it?

Doesn’t she want to be with Hope in heaven?

Hope will never get to see her now.

She chokes on air, feeling as if she might cry. The only thing keeping her from it is them being parked right in front of the school.

“They aren’t going to let you come back.” Hope says, hoping that it will force Freya to reconsider.

Freya nods, her expression not changing. “I know.”

Hope sinks into the passenger seat, trying to hide her tears from anyone who may be passing by. It would ruin her image from the start to be the crying girl in the car, especially when the uniform she has on is already drawing attention.

“But I won’t get to see you again.” Hope’s voice cracks weakly, but she can’t stop it.

“It doesn’t have to be that way.”

The thought of never seeing Freya again is heartbreaking and yet, when she reaches out to Hope, all Hope can picture is Freya dragging her down to hell with her. Freya’s hands, which were once a strong source of comfort, scare the fuck out of her now.

Hope pushes open the door and practically falls out of the car in her haste. She hears Freya call out to her, but she grabs her bag and rushes towards the school without looking back.

On her way in, she bumps into some curly haired freak who she shoves past a little too roughly, but she can’t stop herself. Hope forgets to apologize. She keeps moving through a school she doesn’t know, following the crowd and getting lost in all of the people surrounding her.

It gives her a second to compose herself. By the time she reaches the gym, she has stopped crying and managed to wipe any lingering tears off on the collar of her shirt.

Relief pushes past the sadness in her heart. Having Freya out of sight means Hope doesn’t have to act like any of that actually happened. Plus, trying to find her orientation group proves to be a good distraction. As she wanders around in search of a chair with her name on it, she convinces herself that the entire situation was simply a cruel nightmare.

When she returns home, Freya will be there on the couch, and she’ll stay there until she has to leave for a date - a date with a man.

After a few minutes, Hope finds her group. The circle of chairs is only half full, but the seat next to Hope’s is already taken.

When Hope approaches, the girl sitting there looks up and pins Hope under her gaze. Her eyes are chocolate brown, dark enough that Hope’s feet slow as if glued to the floor by the sticky sweetness of them. She examines the rest of the girl’s face with interest, tracing her soft features and full mouth.

“Hi.” The stranger greets. “I’m Josie.”

Something about hearing her voice causes everything Hope had just neatly packed away to rush to the surface in a way that is entirely unpleasant.

She looks down, her heart pounding strangely. Heat floods her face without warning, the exposed skin of Josie’s thighs feeling like an attack on her entire being. _Who wears a skirt that short?_

Hope quickly decides that she doesn’t want anything to do with her.

“Has anyone ever told you that you look like one of the bait girls on To Catch A Predator?” Hope asks cruelly.

Josie’s smile slips off of her mouth, her friendly expression being replaced with confusion and sadness. She looks down at her outfit, insecurity written all over her face, and starts to adjust her sweater.

“Don’t even try.” Hope snaps. As she sits beside her, she stares at a spot on the wall, careful to avoid looking directly at Josie. “You’re already a total trainwreck.”

Somehow, she feels a lot better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I’ll get to all of the comments tomorrow, I really appreciate all of them and you guys for reading :)


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk why Hope has a cat named Yoda in all of my fics but it’s tradition now and I choose to believe he jumps from universe to universe watching Hope and Josie fall in love

“I like Reese’s but…” MG’s lips tip down into an indecisive frown, his finger set firmly on the vending machine’s glass. “What if someone on the bus has a peanut allergy?”

Josie resists the urge to push him aside and make the decision herself. They’ve been standing in front of the machine for a few minutes now, trying to figure out what snacks they can get for under three dollars. Chips and candy aren’t the ideal breakfast, but they won’t be home for at least an hour and no one thought to buy dinner last night.

With her lingering hangover, Josie would be happy to devour several boxes of chocolates for breakfast, as long as she gets something to settle her stomach.

“Get the gummy bears, then.” Josie suggests. What she really wants is coffee, but there is none.

“No.” MG shakes his head. “Lizzie hates watching people eat them. She says it gives her nightmares.”

Josie is about five seconds away from body slamming her best friend over some candy and a can of soda, but thankfully someone pushes him aside before Josie can do anything too rash.

Honestly, Josie is drawn in by the coffee in the person’s hand more than anything else, but then she notices the rings shining along pale fingers and stops molesting Hope’s cup with her eyes. Hope looks decidedly un-Hope, wearing a shirt that’s big enough to reach her knees and moving in a tired, sluggish manner.

The familiar, steely blue of her eyes are hidden behind dark shades. Josie wishes that she could remove the sunglasses - it feels unfair that Hope gets yet another thing to hide behind while Josie is left exposed.

Hope taps the vending machine’s buttons, puts in her money, and leans down to collect two packs of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups shortly after. She leaves as quickly as she came.

“I don’t care how small she is. She still scares me.” MG comments under his breath, since Hope isn’t fully out of earshot.

Josie pats his shoulder in a form of comfort and steps away from him, leaving MG to his candy. Her hunger morphs as she catches up with Hope, shifting away from a food craving and towards a need to speak to Hope.

“They have coffee?” Josie asks. When no answer comes from Hope, she begins to ramble. “I couldn’t find any. I tried, though. Obviously. I can’t really function in the morning without-“

Hope sighs loudly enough to cut Josie off and stops a few yards away from where the rest of the club is gathered. It’s probably for the best. They all look ridiculous, shuffling around in their pajamas and doing bad impressions of people who weren’t drinking all of last night. Josie definitely isn’t in a rush to join them.

“It’s in the lobby, they have a machine. It’s not very good.” Hope explains, watching the dark liquid swirl around as she spins the cup a bit.

With the way Hope’s head is tilted down, Josie can see the tops of her eyelids and the pretty curl of her eyelashes. It makes her lean forward almost unconsciously, wanting to get a glimpse of blue.

Hope stops her from getting any closer by pressing the cup into Josie’s stomach. She holds it there for long enough that Josie realizes it’s an offering and carefully clasps her hands around it.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t.” Hope shrugs noncommittally, clearly uncomfortable with Josie’s fond tone of voice, but Josie can’t help it. Feeding her caffeine addiction is like proposing. “Like I said, it’s horrible.”

Josie takes a small sip and quickly realizes that Hope is right about the taste, but she can feel the energy buzzing through her veins upon swallowing, so she keeps on drinking. After a bit, it isn’t so bad. Plus, it gives her something to do with her hands and mouth while she tries to build up her courage.

Last night, the only thing keeping Josie from allowing Hope to kiss her endlessly was the alcohol. Now, they’re both painfully sober and all Josie is left with is the urgent need to feel Hope’s lips again.

Kissing Hope in public probably wouldn’t be wise.

“Um.” Josie bites the inside of her cheek and steps closer, choosing her words carefully. “I was thinking that maybe we could go do something? Like get coffee or… whatever. Good coffee, though. To be clear.”

She cringes, her face wrinkling up the same way fabric would. Embarrassment courses through her in one long, pathetic surge of humiliation. Josie focuses on her beverage, rolling the lukewarm liquid around in her mouth and staring down at her cup.

Josie waits for Hope’s response long enough that the silence grows thick between them and Josie glances up, seeing no readable expression on Hope’s voice.

Fucking sunglasses.

“Why would I want to do that?” Hope sounds clueless. It throws Josie for a loop, because she had spent all morning with an ache on her neck that Hope’s mouth left behind.

She steps closer, lowering her voice more. “Well, ‘cause you kissed me.”

Hope recoils, her eyes still hidden but her lips twisting down and her eyebrows raising up above the shades. When Hope steps away from her, Josie doesn’t bother to try and bring them closer. It feels as if Hope has built up a wall between them, complete with a moat and no drawbridge.

“No I didn’t. I don’t know what would make you think that.”

Josie sputters. “But you were on top of me and-“

“Stop telling me about your wet dreams.” Hope raises her voice, catching the attention of a few of their friends who slowly spin around to watch the encounter. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you sleep near me.”

Did Hope drink so much that she forgot about their kiss or is she just pushing Josie away yet again? Josie has no time to figure it out, because she notices the stares of about three different people and pinks instantly.

“Oh, okay. Sorry for bothering you.” The last part is muttered in such a weak tone that Josie feels her chest threaten to cave in.

Josie decides to leave before she can further embarrass herself and rushes off in the direction of everyone else. She wants to go back into one of the motel rooms and bury herself under the sheets. Now that everyone saw that interaction, they’re going to want to know what she was talking to Hope about.

She’s in no mood to explain her stupidity. Why did she think Hope Mikaelson would want to go on a date with her?

Josie kicks at the gravel as she walks, wanting to get further from Hope and also wanting to stay far away from everyone else. It feels as if she is standing on a bridge between hells, making the decision to either fall into hot lava or have her nails plucked from her fingers.

Her saving grace comes in the unlikely form of Vocal Adrenaline. Josie spots them all flooding out of their hotel rooms in perfect formation, like aliens who don’t know how to walk on their own. She raises herself up on her tippy toes and sure enough Jade is leading the pack on their descent down the stairs, her blonde hair strangely perfect and her walk as stiff as a robot’s.

Jade sort of reminds Josie of Barbie and Dracula’s love child. On one hand, it always seems as if the girl should be swirling around in a dark cape, but she also looks as if she may live in a plastic dream house.

Either way, Josie is relieved when Jade calls her over with a subtle nod of her head.

“You look cute.” Jade comments, ushering her away from the rest of Vocal Adrenaline, who don’t seem too happy with Josie’s presence. “Hangover chic, very sexy.”

“Stop it.” Josie brushes her off.

In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the greatest idea to let Jade console her last night, but she had been drunk and sad, and Jade’s jacket was surprisingly warm. It’s not like they kissed - they just talked. Well, Josie talked and Jade occasionally nodded and made a flirty comment or two, but it was nice to not be left alone to wander around in the dark.

Still.

Josie couldn’t escape the feeling that Jade was simply just watered down Hope. Slightly less intimidating, slightly less pretty, and a lot more problematic to talk to.

“Why’d you guys stay here, anyways?” Josie asks. She catches several glares from both glee clubs that are watching them and subtly steps away from the hand Jade has on her waist. “Isn’t your club funded by the Salvatores? You could have gotten a hotel.”

“You did research on me?” Jade grins, all teeth. The fact that Jade didn’t answer the question slips from Josie’s mind.

Josie has no response to that, so she searches the sky for a suggestion. She ends up glancing back at her team and freezes at what she sees. Everyone is more or less paying attention to her (Lizzie, in particular, is making some wild gestures with her hands that seem to vaguely imply that Jade is evil), but Hope appears to be incredibly focused on them.

Her sunglasses are finally off, her eyes squinted under the sunlight. The stare Hope is giving them smothers Josie like a heavy weight with its undeniable anger, the look on Hope’s face nothing short of… jealousy?

“Of course I did.” Josie steps forward. She focuses her gaze on Jade, but she watches Hope out of her peripheral vision.

“Oh?” Jade questions. It sounds as if it comes from underwater.

Hope’s arms cross over her chest and Josie leans closer, her stomach almost brushing Jade’s. It feels as if Hope is reeling her in, dragging her right through Jade and towards herself. Josie almost forgets that Jade is an actual, solid person and not part of the air that stands between Hope and Josie, and she accidentally bumps right into her.

“Well, you move fast.” Jade remarks, seeming all too pleased with how they’ve ended up so close.

Josie’s first instinct is to separate them (Jade may be pretty, but they’re still strangers) but she stays put. She can practically hear the bubble of Hope’s blood boiling from here.

Does this mean Hope remembers the kiss?

Josie peers down at Jade. She knows it’s wrong, but she can’t help but wonder if Hope needs a little push to get them to talk about things. She already knows Hope is a jealous person. Hope made that abundantly clear when she’d very obviously put her tongue down Landon’s throat during a Glee Club meeting.

A bus pulls up, this one black and blue and a lot fancier than any vehicle deserves to be. Vocal Adrenaline begins picking up their bags and lining up to enter it.

“Stop flirting with the enemy.” One of the boys calls to Jade, who rolls her eyes but politely puts some space between her and Josie.

“Can I have your number or do I need to flirt with you again at Regionals?” Jade asks, already getting ready to add a new contact to her phone.

Josie laughs and nods, because this plan really isn’t too bad - it’s not like Jade is the worst person in the world. She takes Jade’s phone from her hands and types in her name and number before handing it back.

“Cool.” Jade smiles and pockets her phone. She shoulders her bag and slowly begins to migrate to the bus with the rest of her team. “I’ll call you.”

Jade disappears into the line. Josie watches her smack the boy she moves to stand next to, saying something along the lines of _you’re a dick, Connor._

Josie walks back to her own team. She tries to keep her face neutral and ignore the looks she’s getting. They range from confused (Ethan) to glares dark enough that they look as if they were born in a volcano of doom (Hope).

“What the fuck was that?” Hope questions, not bothering with subtly.

“Conversation.” Josie replies easily and turns away from Hope, facing her sister. She hears Hope sputter behind her and resists the urge to grin.

A second later, Hope rounds on her and comes to stand beside both Josie and Lizzie. Lizzie’s expression shifts into shock at Hope actively trying to speak with them, but for once Josie feels as if she has predicted Hope’s actions.

“You can’t flirt with her. She’s the enemy.” Hope points out. “You’re a traitor.”

“I was saying hello. Why are you obsessed with me?” Josie pitches her voice louder so more people hear.

Hope’s irises darken along with her cheeks, which take on a deep red color. “I am _not_ -“

Before things can be taken any further, Penelope casually puts her arm around Hope’s waist and squeezes it noticeably. Hope’s words die in her throat, as if Penelope pressed her off button.

Unfair.

Hope had an off button all of these years and Josie wasn’t allowed to know about it?

“I can’t deal with your screaming so early in the morning.” Penelope grumbles. She drags Hope into a forceful side-hug. “Please shut up before I pop a blood vessel or something.”

“You’re dramatic when you’re hungover.” Hope says, but whatever Penelope did works.

The two cheerleaders walk away from Josie and Lizzie without another glance. Josie feels oddly disappointed that Hope hadn’t stuck around for a while longer, but she shakes that strange emotion off quickly.

“I really can’t believe I’m saying this, but Hope is right.” Lizzie admits. Josie sighs and braces herself for the lecture. “Jade St. James? Are you insane? She’s probably planning to cook you up and serve you to Vocal Adrenaline as a high protein meal. You can’t just…”

—————

_Are you a tower? Because Eiffel for you._

Josie rolls her eyes at the texts Jade is sending her - dumb pick-up line after dumb pick-up line. She already agreed to a late lunch after school, so there’s really no need for flattery, but Jade seems unable to stop herself.

Once she’s done piling her books in her locker, she takes her phone out from under her arm and types out a quick response.

**Your flirting is getting worse.**

Her locker door shuts suddenly, banging closed with a loud thud. Josie yelps and grips her phone tighter, her heart jumping for more reasons than one. She’s still not used to everyone approaching her without so much as a hello or a warning, but she also knows that Hope is the CEO of not knowing how to greet a person.

When Josie looks up, she can’t help but feel a bit disappointed by seeing Penelope in front of her instead of Hope.

It’s been a week and Hope hasn’t spoken to her since Sectionals. Josie thought that her flirting might get her more of Hope’s attention, but all it’s done is drive them further apart. It feels as if the world has gone silent with the lack of their bickering. Not a single slushie has been tossed in several days and every second seems a little more bizarre than the last.

“Yes?” Josie asks. She clutches her phone to her chest and checks Penelope’s hands for any Big Gulp cups.

Once Josie knows Penelope has nothing to harm her with, she relaxes. She’s planning on wearing this outfit on her date and showing up with a giant purple stain wouldn’t exactly be the most fashionable decision.

“You need to get Hope under control.” Penelope says. Upon further inspection, Josie notices how tired Penelope appears, with bags under her eyes and wet grass stains on her uniform. “She’s lost it. She keeps making us all run laps for hours and yelling at us like she’s Voldemort or something.”

Josie’s nose scrunches in confusion. “And this is my problem, how?”

Penelope frowns and steps closer, probably in an attempt to intimidate her, but Josie has dealt with a lot worse than this. She stands her ground. After a second, Penelope’s face visibly softens and she releases a sigh.

“Please. Don’t be difficult.” Penelope wrings her hands and steps forward again, this time in a less threatening manner. She lowers her voice like she has a secret to tell. “Hope is nicer after she talks to you. So… just talk to her. Don’t make me lock you two up again.”

Wait. Lock them up?

“You locked me in that closet?” Josie’s voice raises.

Penelope bats her hands in the air, quieting Josie down as they receive a few stares. She leans back now that they’re gaining a bit of an audience and glares at any passerbyers.

It’s such a familiar action that Josie’s chest betrays her, her heartbeat picking up speed at the memory of how Hope used to drag her into more private places (bathrooms) for their conversations.

“It was necessary.” Penelope argues. “Just go talk to her, she’s at her house.”

Josie stays silent and weighs her options. She has about an hour before she needs to meet Jade at Breadstix, so she technically has the time to stop by Hope’s house. The question is whether or not that’s a good idea.

Showing up at the Mikaelson house unannounced? Insane.

Is Hope worth being insane for?

“ _Please_.” Penelope stresses.

Yes. Yes, Hope is.

“Okay.” Josie finally nods. “But I want a favor in return. No slushies for the rest of the month.”

Penelope agrees without hesitation. They don’t shake hands, but they do sort of nod at each other in some strange agreement that shows Josie’s help is appreciated. It’s the nicest interaction Josie has ever had with the other girl.

Josie pockets her phone and heads out to the parking lot. She got her family to give up the car for the afternoon since she has a date, so the empty vehicle is waiting for her outside the school. Josie gets in and checks her messages one last time before driving out of the lot.

She has to find Hope’s house by memory alone, but thankfully they didn’t do much talking on that drive and Josie can more or less recall which turns to take.

The lights are on in the Mikaelson house, the windows brightened by Hayley who appears to be walking around in one of the rooms. Sure enough, Hope’s car is parked in the driveway. Josie stares for long enough that she feels sort of creepy, but she needs to gather her courage.

About another minute of stressing passes and Josie gets out of the car. She walks up to the front door and rings the doorbell before she can lose her nerve.

Hayley smiles when she sees Josie. “Josie, it’s nice to see you. Hope didn’t tell me you were coming over.”

“Oh, I’m not going to be here long.” Josie smiles back politely. She finds it a lot easier to keep up her happy appearance when Hayley gladly ushers her into the house.

It’s strange how much Hope’s parents seem to like her. They’ve only met twice now, but each time their kindness shocks Josie. She wonders how they raised someone like Hope.

“Hope is upstairs.” Hayley explains. “I’m making sandwiches, I’ll pack one for you to take on your way out.”

“Okay. Thank you.” She feels obligated to accept the offer even though she’s going to be getting food in less than an hour.

Josie tries to not linger on the stairs on her way up. She doesn’t want to call attention to the real reason why she’s here, especially when Hope’s parents seem to be under the impression that her and Hope are actually friends.

The door to Hope’s room is cracked open enough that light is leaking into the hallway. Josie swallows down her anxiety as she’s illuminated by the stray light and is forced to step into the room. She knocks on the doorway and Hope lifts her head from her homework.

“Josie?” Hope pushes away from her desk, her chair rolling closer towards the middle of the room. The surprised look on her face thaws out, one of anger replacing it. “What are you doing here? I don’t want you near me.”

Josie tenses, her eyes straying back to the stairs. It would be so easy to abandon Hope entirely. She has Jade waiting for her.

“I think you’re lying.” Josie replies firmly and steps further into the room.

Maybe it’s the wrong decision, but she has too much pride to back down now. She stays rooted to the floor while she watches Hope slowly stand up. Hope approaches her, eyes as intense as her father’s, and slips by Josie silently. The cheerleader takes hold of her door and pushes it open more, making a short gesture for Josie to leave.

Fine.

Josie doesn’t have to deal with this. It’s not like Hope is some child Josie is being paid to babysit. She gets nothing out of this. She shouldn’t have come in the first place.

“Whatever.” Josie shrugs, not allowing her bitterness to flow through her voice. “Jade is waiting, anyways.”

She gets two steps out into the hallway.

“Jade?”

Josie doesn’t turn around. “Yeah. We have a date.”

“She’s in Vocal Adrenaline.” Hope sputters, outraged. “You _can’t_ date her.”

It’s as if Josie has a puddle of gasoline hidden deep in her chest and Hope has sparked a match. She feels her intestines go up in flames in half a second and is back in the room before she can blink.

“I can date whoever I want. Last time I checked, you’re not my mother and you’re not my girlfriend, so you don’t get to-“

The sound of the door shutting under their combined weight is louder than a gunshot. Josie releases a startled gasp that Hope devours with her mouth, pressing them together roughly.

Hope kisses with so much force that all Josie can do is melt into her, dizzy with the display of power. She crumbles against the door, her lips parting on instinct to allow Hope’s tongue inside. The blatant act of submission seems to spur Hope on and soon Hope’s palms are branding her hips.

Josie moans helplessly at the way Hope grinds their bodies together. It goes much like the first time, with Hope dipping down to her neck as soon as Josie makes noise.

“Hope…” Josie trails off, unsure of what to say. Her mind blanks when Hope swipes her tongue over a soft jaw.

Little, breathy noises begin to leave her mouth in a constant stream. She sounds nothing short of needy, but she’s lost the ability to do anything other than arch into the other girl.

It makes her feel deliciously desperate, like she’s something Hope can claim. That thought taps into a private part of her mind, one that doesn’t know reason and begs to feel Hope closer.

“Quiet, Jo.” Hope mutters into the hollow of her throat. Her voice is low, warning - like a threat. Josie bites back a whimper. “My parents are downstairs.”

Josie clamps her teeth down on her bottom lip and tries to contain herself, but the thought of being caught makes her flush. Several images pop into her mind, all consisting of someone seeing them just like this - Hope totally in control, Josie nothing but a whining mess on her door.

Then, she feels hair- no, _fur_.

Something small and warm curls around her legs, winding its way around her ankles. Josie looks down in surprise, pushing Hope away slightly when she spots a little animal crawling around their feet.

“You have a cat?” Josie asks. She bends down to collect the tiny ball of fur in her arms and it purrs, twisting closer to her. “ _Oh_ \- so cute.”

Hope scowls at the pet, but Josie barely notices her annoyance. She quickly gets distracted by the adorable cat in her arms and begins petting it carefully, her heart melting at the pleased sounds it produces.

Josie checks her collar for a tag and finds a green circle with the name Yoda inscribed on it.

“Yoda? That’s adorable. You’re a Star Wars nerd, too.” Josie’s voice has taken on this high-pitched, amazed tone, but she can’t help it.

So.

Fucking.

Cute.

“I’m not a nerd.” Hope grumbles, appearing as red as her cat. “Landon made me watch the movies and- it’s not important. Give him back, my mom is probably looking for him.”

Reluctantly, Josie hands over the cat to a frowning Hope, who is quick about setting him out in the hall. While Hope puts Yoda away, Josie tries to collect herself. She wanders around the room, towards a mirror, and makes a horrified sound at the sight of her neck.

The skin on her neck is damp and tortured, the space between her thighs no different. She leans closer. Everything from her jaw to her collarbone is painted red, obviously the start of several dark hickies.

“Hope, my _neck_.” Josie grumbles, irritated further by the sight of Hope’s smirk. “I have a date.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Says the girl who just tried to maim me.” Josie frowns at her reflection, stretching her head up to inspect herself further.

Thanks to this little detour, she has no time to go home and cover them up. There’s no makeup in her car and she very much doubts Hope has something that will match her skin tone.

Josie is so busy that she doesn’t notice Hope coming closer to her until there are arms around her waist and lips ghosting across her neck. For a second, she wonders if Hope has to get on her tippy toes to do this, but then Hope kisses a tender spot and all thoughts about her height slip Josie’s mind.

“You weren’t complaining.” Hope whispers. She anchors her closer, taking full advantage of Josie’s cropped sweater.

Fingers run along her ribs, nails leaving pale white lines across her stomach. Josie shuts her eyes at the slight sting of pain. All she wants is for Hope to raise her hands higher or lower, or to just never move them at all.

She wants to be _touched_.

“Hope…” Josie whispers. This is wrong. She has no idea what _this_ is and she has a date lined up, one that she’s going to be late for. “You know I have to go.”

Despite her protests, Josie stays still. Hope holds her loosely enough that she could step out of her grip, but she can’t bring herself to. She’s hyper aware of Hope’s presence behind her - of the warm breath on her neck and the infinitely soft swell of Hope’s chest against her back.

“You look so pretty in this.” Hope comments lowly, her fingers pinching at the waistband of Josie’s skirt.

The words electrify her, lighting her up with one strong spark. Josie squirms and presses her thighs together, blushing when she catches herself in the mirror.

She looks so _needy_.

“I have to go.” Josie repeats, tilting her head away but not slipping from Hope’s arms. “This… this is wrong. We can’t do this.”

Hope releases her and steps back with a rough sigh, looking more distraught than Josie thought she would.

“I get it. You can’t be with someone so cruel, right?” Hope scoffs, her eyes on the floor and her anger pointed more at herself than at Josie.

Josie blinks, confused. “What? No.”

The ghost of Hope’s fingers are still caressing her, so it takes her a moment to get a firm hold on her senses. Once she does, she steps forward bravely and grabs Hope’s hands to calm her down.

“I can't be with you because I promised Jade I’d meet her. I can’t blow her off.” Josie explains, going slow so she is sure Hope can hear her. She pauses, swiping her tongue over her lips nervously. “And because I don’t know what being with you even is. Are you going to be mean tomorrow? Are we going to go on dates?”

It takes Hope forever to answer. It takes Josie forever to realize that Hope has none of the answers at all.

Josie lets go of Hope, fighting disappointment in her chest, and goes to leave. She can’t deal with this right now or ever.

“Wait.” Hope calls, catching up to her before she gets a chance to open the door. “Give me some time. I’ll… I can be nice.”

“Do you even like me?” Josie asks. Her voice becomes so small that it’s barely a whisper and her cheeks heat at the blatant insecurity in her words.

After a long moment, Hope nods. She does it subtly, like this is the biggest secret in the world. Maybe it is.

Hope backs up, holding one finger in the air to signal Josie should stay put. She disappears into her closet for a second and comes out holding a simple, purple scarf. This time, Hope approaches Josie timidly and wraps the scarf around Josie’s neck, looking up shyly while she does it.

“I can be nice.” Hope repeats. “Sorry about the hickies.”

An adorable blush crosses Hope’s face. She looks like a dog who is being scolded for marking its territory in the wrong place.

“It’s okay.” Josie replies.

It feels as if she is being introduced to a different version of Hope - a newer, cuter version that melts Josie’s heart into a puddle. Josie can’t stop herself from leaning down slightly and putting her lips right between Hope’s eyebrows, kissing her forehead.

Red consumes the paleness of Hope’s face.

Josie wants to kiss every color of the rainbow into her skin, but she refrains.

She leaves the Mikaelson house with one last glance at Hope and a bagged turkey sandwich from Hayley. It takes her less than ten minutes to get to Breadstix and meet up with Jade, who looks beyond happy to see her. Josie feels guilt eat at her stomach for the rest of the meal, so she picks at her food and avoids her drink.

A part of her knows that the real reason she becomes so picky is because every sip and swallow brings her farther away from the taste of Hope’s mouth.


	24. Chapter 24

_Do you want to go costume shopping with me after school?_

Josie’s eyes find Hope as if drawn by a magnet, her body twisting around to look behind her. Hope is sitting in the back row with Maya, diligently taking bio notes - not a glimpse of her phone in sight. The only thing indicating that Hope actually sent the text is the contact name Josie sees on her screen.

She faces the front of the classroom again and discreetly tucks her phone between her knees while she types.

**I have homework**

When no response comes, Josie sets her hands back on the desk. She picks her pen up and returns to her notes, wondering if she could finish all of her homework now so she’d be able to go shopping with Hope.

It surprises her how much she wants to spend time with the other girl. They haven’t gotten a chance to talk since the kiss, which is really no one’s fault. Hope is constantly preoccupied with cheerleading practice or church and Josie has so much schoolwork that she pretty much forgot about Halloween altogether.

Josie would try and talk to Hope in Glee Club, but she doesn’t want to overstep. She has no idea what Hope’s boundaries are and if they’ll ever be doing things publicly.

_:(_

A second passes.

_I’ll buy you coffee_

Josie’s lips tilt up at the offer. She isn’t used to Hope offering to do anything other than toss a slushie in her face. She tries to mask her smile as Lizzie gives her a strange look and lowers the brightness on her screen to be more subtle.

**Okay, I’ll go**

“Is that Jade you’re texting?” Lizzie questions, leaning over and frowning when Josie slips her phone back into her pocket. “You have this weird smile on your face. Please tell me you two aren’t sexting.”

“Of course not.” Josie hisses. Her face heats at the insinuation.

Josie knows that she should fill Lizzie in on everything, but she’s sort of stalling. Honestly, she feels a little guilty and confused. She gets the sense that Jade wants to take her on a second date and Hope doesn’t want to date her at all yet (unless costume shopping is Hope’s idea of a date).

When she dumbs down the situation, the choice seems very clear. Why would Josie go on trying to date the semi-distant bully with issues rather than hook up with a girl who is obvious about wanting her?

Her phone buzzes again. Josie checks to make sure her teacher isn’t paying attention before reading the text.

_:D_

Josie can’t help but grin at Hope’s response, picturing her gleeful expression. It seems her heart has already made the decision for her, despite what her head might think.

“You look like someone just sent you a picture of their boobs.” Lizzie comments.

“Stop it.” She bats Lizzie away, thinking that her sister is speaking entirely too loud. “I’m not texting Jade.”

Hope would probably never send anything like that anyways. She seems strangely comfortable with lounging around in her underwear, but Josie hasn’t seen her fully topless.

“Well, now you’re thinking about boobs.” Lizzie points out.

The bell rings and Josie grabs her bag, rushing out of the classroom with the other hurried students. Sometimes, being a twin sucks. Trying to hide things from Lizzie is nearly impossible because they are always so in sync. Lizzie can even tell when she has to use the bathroom.

Speaking of the bathroom, Josie spots Hope ditching Penelope and Maya to wander into one. Josie pauses for a second in the hall, wondering (not for the first time) if it’s creepy to join Hope in the restroom again. She thinks it would be incredibly awkward if she were to walk in on Hope actually using it, but also she’d feel bad if she missed one of Hope’s attempts to talk to her.

After a minute of staring at the door, Josie finally pushes it open and goes inside. She doesn’t see Hope anywhere and quickly comes to the conclusion that Hope is in a stall.

It seems weird to wait around for her, especially when there is another girl washing her hands a few feet away, so she turns to leave. Before she can make her exit, Josie feels her phone vibrate in her skirt pocket and pauses. She stands by the door while she checks her notifications.

It’s Hope, inviting her into the last stall. They have such a strange relationship.

Josie tries to appear as casual as possible when going into the stall, pleased to find it open (for a horrifying second, she worried that she would have to knock). She barely gets her toe in before Hope is grabbing her arm and rapidly pulling her inside.

“Hey-“ Josie is cut off suddenly by Hope’s palm on her mouth, effectively shutting her up.

At first she wants to protest, but then she realizes that Hope is just keeping her quiet until the other girl leaves the bathroom. All Josie can do is stand there and try not to squirm too much as she’s forced to stand very close to Hope in the tiny stall. They both wait, staying silent until they hear the soft thud of the door falling shut.

Hope takes her hand away as soon as they’re alone. She leans back to put some distance between them, looking unusually shy about having just pinned Josie to a wall once again.

“Sorry.” Hope breathes, her eyes running all over Josie’s face in a way that has Josie immediately flushing. “I kind of messed up your lip gloss.”

“Oh.” Josie replies, but before she can do anything about it Hope is cleaning off the edges of her mouth for her.

Hope gently swipes her thumb over the places where the gloss has smeared, careful not to allow her fingers to linger but looking as if she _really_ wants to touch. Josie reddens further under Hope’s attention.

The slight desperation that flickers across Hope’s face is almost entirely unexpected, so much so that Josie can’t help but lean into her hand on instinct.

“Sorry, uh.” Hope clears her throat and drops her hand. “I kind of… don’t know how to do this.”

Josie almost laughs at that, because the memory of Hope practically smashing her against a door (and into a mattress) is still fresh in her mind. She manages to hold back her amusement, deciding that laughing would only turn this sour. Hope seems genuinely nervous.

“Stop apologizing, it’s okay. We can take things slow.” Josie reassures her. Hope nods gratefully and peers up at Josie with wide, pretty eyes.

She has the sudden urge to kiss Hope senseless and forces herself harder against the stall wall, feeling like a horny teenage boy. Josie really needs to get it together. She can’t bring up them taking it slow and then immediately start thinking about getting Hope’s mouth on her neck again.

If they’re going to do this, Josie needs to be careful with every move she makes. The first time they kissed they’d been drunk and the second time had been in the heat of an argument. Hope seems much more timid now that there’s no alcohol or distractions.

Josie is about to come up with something to say when she glances to the side and nearly chokes on her own air. She can’t believe that they ended up _here_ , especially with all of the other stalls they could have gone in.

Hope follows her line of sight and sputters audibly, clearly embarrassed. “Oh. Well. I guess some people really can’t help themselves from drawing pornography.”

“Hope, I know you drew this.” Josie tells her.

Maybe she should be mad about the naked drawing of her on the stall door, but mostly she’s just a bit amused at Hope lying so badly about it. She reaches out and drags her finger over the edge of the drawing, focusing on it but also partially watching Hope out of the corner of her eye.

“Sorry.” Hope mutters. She drops her gaze to the floor.

Josie tires of the hesitant, awkward thing Hope is doing and transfers her finger from the wall to Hope’s chin. She nudges Hope’s head up enough that Hope is forced to meet her eyes.

“What did I say about apologizing?” Josie questions, pleased when Hope’s stuttering stops abruptly.

Hope Mikaelson, taking orders. What a sight.

“You’re really good at drawing.” Josie removes her fingers from Hope’s chin and returns her attention to the wall. Once she realizes that there’s a low chance of anyone assuming it’s her, she feels sort of flattered at how nice Drawing Josie looks. “Do you really see me like this?”

Hope shrugs, avoiding any eye contact. “I’ve never seen you naked.”

“Well, do you _imagine_ me like that?” Josie presses. She watches as Hope turns an unholy shade of red and grins, thinking she’s got her answer.

It sends a hot little thrill through her, getting the confirmation that Hope is attracted to her and being able to see how she affects Hope. Josie’s ego swells considerably. She can’t help but rock forward, propelling herself an inch closer to Hope and lighting up at the way Hope’s throat bobs as the space between them disappears.

Josie wonders if Hope is desperate to kiss her, if she was thinking about doing it in class when she’d sent those texts.

“Don’t look so smug, Saltzman.” Hope straightens, some of her bravado coming back in a wave. “You probably think about me, too.”

The way Hope speaks - clear, authoritative, all head cheerleader - makes Josie want to shrink, but she powers on despite the rising blush caressing her cheeks.

“I do.” Josie admits.

Someone comes into the restroom just to suck the tension out of the situation. Both Hope and Josie stand there with equally uncomfortable expressions on their faces, feeling awkward about lingering around while someone uses the bathroom. It takes a minute, but eventually the girl washes her hands and leaves.

In an odd way, Josie is glad for the distraction. Their conversation was rapidly heading towards things Josie isn’t ready to discuss. She likes teasing Hope, but she isn’t sure she could deal with openly describing any of her inappropriate thoughts yet.

“So, costume shopping?” Josie prompts. She can see Hope visibly relax at the new topic.

“Yeah.” Hope nods eagerly. “I haven’t gotten my costume yet and I assume you haven’t either. Though if you have, we could do something else.”

“I haven’t.”

“Good.” Hope falls silent once again.

It’s surprisingly not awkward. Josie is slowly realizing that Hope has this habit of forgetting to speak because she’s staring at her and now is one of those times. Hope’s pupils dilate noticeably as her eyes zero in on Josie’s lips, the black reducing her irises to two thin, blue rings.

The warning bell rings before Hope or Josie can violate their new _taking it slow_ policy.

Hope huffs, looking just as annoyed as she did when her cat interrupted them, and opens the door for Josie. Josie has to fight a giggle at Hope’s expression. She looks like a teenage boy that was denied a blowjob.

“See you after school?” Josie questions, receiving a nod in return.

They step out of the bathroom together but from there they part ways. Hope goes left while Josie goes right. For the next few hours, they might as well be strangers.

—————

The costume store is delightfully empty, except for the few employees that roam the building. Hope seems to thrive in a space with little people, practically bouncing from aisle to aisle as she sorts through different products - fake blood, monster masks, gruesome decorations.

At first, Josie had been a bit discouraged when she realized Hope was trying to hide her. Hope had gone out of her way to take them to the costume shop on the edge of town (they passed a Party City - it kind of sucked). Now, Josie is just amused by Hope’s excitement for all of the Halloween decor. She swears that she saw Hope _skip_ as they entered aisle seven.

Apparently, Hope drank four cups of coffee today.

Josie, on the other hand, has only had the one cup Hope bought her. She sort of has caffeine envy.

“Did you come up with any costume ideas?” Hope asks, her fingers trembling along a plastic skull that lights up when she presses down on the dip of its nose.

Josie shakes her head. She hadn’t had much time to think about it. The car ride had been less than ten minutes and she couldn’t come up with anything good in that time. One of her ideas was being a witch, but she figured wearing a giant pointy hat all night would quickly grow tiring.

Something easy and simple would fit her better. She hasn’t put effort into Halloween since she was younger and even then, she wasn’t one for drawing much attention to herself.

Josie eyes a few of the costumes in passing. There are the traditional monsters - vampires and werewolves - but also a few more gaudy choices, like Santa Claus and a fairy. She pauses to feel the fairy wings fabric, frowning at how scratchy it feels under her fingertips.

Dressing up as a fairy would be too childish, anyways.

They stroll further down the aisle. Hope takes the lead because she seems to have some sense of where she’s going and what costume she wants, while Josie is considering everything that wouldn’t take a lot of work.

When they walk by a lumberjack costume, Josie smiles at the cute, stuffed axe and stops in front of it. She runs her fingers over the flannel.

“A lumberjack? What are you, a -“ Hope’s words fall short, her expression shifting to one of slight guilt and embarrassment.

Josie doesn’t have to point out how ludicrous it is that Hope, the girl who branded her neck with dark hickies only a couple days ago, was going to tease her about being a lesbian.

Hope swallows thickly and focuses on everything but Josie’s face. “Anyways, you can’t wear that. Halloween is supposed to be sexy.”

“Halloween is about candy, horror movies, and monsters.” Josie explains. She has fond memories of splitting her candy with Lizzie and scaring her dad with a particularly realistic zombie mask. “It’s not sexy.”

“It _is_.” Hope stresses. “What were you last year?”

Embarrassment slips into her blood as if it was injected. Josie blushes, heat rushing to her face faster than ever, and avoids Hope’s gaze intently. She focuses her attention back on the other costumes surrounding the lumberjack one for as long as possible, until she feels Hope gently prod her side with a curious expression.

“A pig.” Josie admits, voice thin and quiet.

The aisle is deadly silent for a second.

A giggle slips through Josie’s ears. It’s as if a dam has broken and all of a sudden Hope’s laughter leaks out of her mouth in one giant rush. Hope tries to muffle the sound by pressing her palm to her lips, but that does nothing to stop the way her body is shaken by the strong chuckles.

Josie wishes that the world would swallow her up and kill her. She stands there for a solid ten seconds, drowning in her mortification until she hears Hope’s sharp gasps and rolls her eyes.

“Okay, it isn’t that funny.” Josie grumbles. A pout forms on her lips - Hope is busy wiping tears off the tops of her cheeks.

Huffing, Josie turns and pretends to leave. She feels no genuine anger, but she enjoys how Hope scrambles after her and wraps an arm around her shoulders. She also enjoys how she is swiftly drawn into a warm, comforting hug.

Josie rests her chin on top of Hope’s head while Hope whispers apologizes into the crook of her neck. When she inhales, she smells nothing but the pleasant, earthy scent of grass and something sweet and fruity that probably comes from shampoo. It calms her enough that she’s coaxed into draping her arms around Hope’s hips, feeling the soft curve of them.

Josie quickly learns to appreciate the empty store, because the lack of audience means that Hope doesn’t seem to mind holding her in a public place.

“I’m sure you looked great as a pig, Jo.” Hope leans away slightly, enough that Josie can see the toothy grin stretching her mouth.

The edges of her lips are tipped upwards, her cheeks made round and prominent by her smile. Hope appears several years younger with the way she’s looking at Josie, genuine joy shining in her eyes.

She’s beautiful.

Josie’s breathing becomes shallow as she stares, her gaze growing intense and killing the last of Hope’s laughter until they’re both breathing quite heavily and watching each other without an ounce of subtlety.

“I did.” Josie informs her. She squeezes Hope’s hips and is rewarded with a muted gasp that causes her control to slip from her fingers.

Her eyes flit to a pink mouth and trail further down to an unblemished neck. Josie presses her tongue to the back of her teeth. It seems entirely unfair that Hope gets to walk around without a single hickey and Josie had to douse her throat with concealer.

If they were in private, Josie would be leveling the playing field a bit, but they’re not. She steps away and tries not to look disappointed while she does it.

“What are you wearing?” Josie asks. They have a habit of acting as if they don’t spend a considerable amount of time staring at each other’s lips. “Lingerie and kitten ears?”

“Maybe.” Hope shrugs, back on the task of finding a good costume.

Josie assumes that Hope is kidding but then she sees Hope pick up an outfit that is literally a thong, two nipple covers, and a sailor’s cap. Her mouth drops open, both in shock and at the visual seeing Hope holding the costume provides.

“Calm down, grandma. You’re seventeen, Halloween is the only time when it’s perfectly acceptable to dress slutty.” Hope’s hand moves over the shelves, her eyebrows pinching together as she looks for something specific. She must find it, because a devious expression crosses her face and she leans up to grab something.

Hope pushes a costume set into Josie’s hand. Josie frowns at how mischievous Hope appears and, when she looks at what she’s been given, she instantly knows why.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sometimes I see people say it’s unrealistic that Landon is the beloved quarterback and ik I’m doing my job cause Finn didn’t deserve to be the popular QB either

“I can’t wear this.” Josie says, her facial features crinkling up into a scandalized expression.

“Why not?”

Hope has to bite her tongue to keep the amusement off of her face. She knows the costume is a bit revealing, but it does sort of fit with what Josie usually wears.

“Hope, the label says _zombie schoolgirl slut._ ” Josie complains. Her voice teeters towards a pitch that’s a tad too high and Hope can’t stop the small chuckle that passes through her lips. “It’s not funny.”

Funny is an understatement. Hope sways closer to Josie on instinct, unable to keep herself from approaching. Josie’s mouth looks just as inviting as it did in the motel room - pillowy and full, especially with the irritated little pout that is forming. Excitement dribbles into Hope’s veins, arousal following a second later when Josie draws her lip between her teeth.

Is this what her punishment is going to be? A lifetime of wanting to kiss Josie Saltzman?

Hope foolishly thought that some dark figure would’ve come to drag her down to hell by now, but things have been relatively normal. She goes to her classes, yells at the cheerleaders during practice, and gets to sleep at night untouched.

The only thing that Hope can’t get past is her own fear. She keeps on imagining something terrible happening. Maybe hell won’t suddenly try to swallow her during math class, but she suspects something will go wrong sometime.

It could be someone else (Hope sees vivid flashes of a memory that hasn’t happened yet, of a shadowy figure who sees Hope’s attraction clear as day and destroys her for it) or it could just be Hope herself. She’s been known to screw things up, one way or another.

But she won’t let herself do it with this - not with Josie.

She takes a step back, remembering how Josie had told her they would go slow earlier, and tries to avoid the building hunger in her heart that begs her to come closer.

“It’s a little funny.” Hope shrugs, eyeing some of the costumes to put her attention elsewhere. She bets she could make Little Red Riding Hood look sexy. “Just try it on. You don’t have to buy it.”

Josie seems to be actually considering it, if the contemplative faces she’s making are anything to go by. God, her eyes and lips are so oddly expressive. No one should be able to have all of their emotions hanging on their sleeves so casually.

It must be a blessing and a curse. Hope is glad that her glare seems to block everyone out, but sometimes Hope wishes she was able to express herself easily. Her words never really get the job done. Most of the time, people assume she’s being distant or a bitch, even when she’s trying her hardest.

“Okay, I’ll try it on. If…” Josie trails off, a mischievous glint in her eyes that Hope doesn’t love. “If you wear this.”

Josie takes one of the costumes off of the shelves and gives it to Hope, who immediately shakes her head in disbelief at what Josie gave her.

“I can’t dress up as Piglet.” Hope glares down at the ridiculous pink onesie.

The display picture shows an actual child in the outfit. It says _for ages 10-13_ and everything. Hope definitely can’t wear this anywhere, the embarrassment would be like poison in her heart. She would get a glimpse of herself in the mirror and promptly drop dead, then the paramedics would wonder why she’s in the outskirts of town with Josie.

Josie, who is giggling in a way that’s completely annoying - and endearing and cute.

“Yes, you can.” Josie bounces on her feet, her grin only growing when Hope tries to glare at her.

Shit.

It must not be as effective now that they’ve kissed. Hope misses the days when she could silence Josie without lifting a finger. The other girl has grown too comfortable with her. Comfortable enough to laugh freely and even rest her hand on Hope’s arm to steady herself.

Hope ignores the insistent pound of her heart that only speeds up under Josie’s soft, amused gaze. Josie’s eyes are doughy brown, her features soft and her lips sweeter than chocolate.

She’s so undeniably pretty.

The realization spins in Hope’s head, turns her dizzy. Is this what attraction is supposed to feel like? Is this what all of the romance movies and songs have been preaching about? Josie Saltzman, laughing herself to death in a costume store?

“And you _will_.” Josie insists, tapping the childish costume in Hope’s hands. Hope almost forgot she was holding it. “Or I won’t put mine on.”

“Nope, not happening.” Hope shakes herself out of whatever trance Josie has got her in.

She’s still Hope Mikaelson. She still calls the shots around here. Josie can’t just bat her eyelashes, stick out her bottom lip, and expect Hope to humiliate herself with a Winnie the Pooh costume.

She has dignity.

“Fine. I’ll go put this on.” Josie shrugs, but Hope gets the sense the action isn’t so innocent. “I’m sure Jade would _love_ to see it on me.”

Jade’s leering eyes pop into Hope’s head, the thought of them caressing Josie’s skin once again rattling her stomach so much she tastes bile in the back of her throat. It feels like venom has been thrust into her mouth and when Hope swallows, she swears she feels jealousy burn a hot path all the way down to her toes.

“Actually, Piglet is a great choice.” Hope says stiffly. Josie smirks and Hope swats at her with the costume before heading back to the dressing rooms.

She has been here a couple times in the past for a few particularly eccentric cheerleading outfits and feels a small bit of pleasure when Josie has to scramble to follow after her. It doesn’t last though, because they soon reach the back and Hope is left in a tiny, closed room with nothing but a Piglet costume.

Ridiculous.

Hope strips off her Cheerios uniform and pauses to look at herself in the full length mirror on the wall. She poses a bit, inspecting her reflection. All the time spent working out during practice has made her body wonderfully toned. She wonders if she could actually get away with walking around in her underwear on Halloween.

Speaking of Halloween, Hope needs to get her plans together. Someone is probably throwing a party she’ll get invited to. Sebastian has a habit of letting way too many people come over to his house while he stalks around, drunk off his ass and flashing his plastic vampire fangs at girls.

Hope hears a muffled gasp come from the dressing room next to her. It must be Josie, since there’s basically no one else in the store. Hope tries to picture Josie in the costume and the outraged look she probably has on her face.

Hope smiles inwardly at the visual and decides she should hurry up and get her costume on.

A minute later, Hope is zipping up the onesie. She scowls at how it actually fits her, despite being for children. The only part that’s oversized is the ears, which droop enough to fall into her face and block her vision. At least it’s soft, because dressing up as pig is far from sexy.

Hope wanders out of her dressing room and stands in front of Josie’s. She taps her knuckles on the door, her knock softened by the pink fabric around her fist.

“Josie?” Hope calls. “Are you decent?”

A few seconds pass with no response, but Hope hears rustling on the other side of the door.

“Decent is a strong word.” Josie finally replies and Hope rolls her eyes.

“Are you wearing the costume?” Hope rephrases. She wants to come in, but she thinks accidentally walking in on Josie naked would give her a heart attack.

“Yeah.”

At the confirmation, Hope pushes the door open and cautiously pokes her head in. Josie’s hands are twisted in an obscenely short plaid skirt, probably trying to pull it down and preserve her modesty. The dress shirt is just as revealing, the top buttons non-existent so the white fabric hangs open and exposes her cleavage.

The only thing keeping Josie’s breasts from being exposed is a red and black tie, which hangs loosely in front of her chest. Hope has a sudden hatred for the accessory.

“Hope?” Josie asks.

“Mhmm.” Hope hums shortly, the sound coming from low in her throat. She focuses her gaze, getting a tantalizing glimpse of tan skin before she peels her eyes away. “You look… uh, nice.”

Hope steps fully into the dressing room and shuts the door by leaning all of her weight on it. She stays planted there, letting her eyes be the only thing that wanders.

Filthy images fill her head. Hope feels helpless, unable to stop herself from branding the view in front of her into her memory. She’s never felt so desperate for something in her life. Her blood is molten, her skin pebbling with goosebumps that Hope prays Josie won’t see.

Thankfully, Josie seems preoccupied with cooing at Hope like she’s a newborn baby.

“Oh my god, you’re so cute.” Josie clasps a hand over her mouth as she approaches. “This is the best thing ever.”

Josie comes close enough to flick a floppy ear off of Hope’s eyebrow. Hope frowns, feeling her face heat for more reasons than one. She can’t handle Josie standing so close to her but she also can’t deal with Josie teasing her like this.

It’s embarrassing. She's the head cheerleader. Penelope would laugh in her face if she saw how whipped Hope has become.

“I’m not cute.” Hope has to resist the urge to actually stomp her foot.

Josie nods excitedly and ruffles the soft patch of fake fur on Hope’s head. “You’re incredibly cute. I need a picture.”

“No.” Hope protests, burning at the idea. She hooks her arms around Josie’s waist before Josie can go get her phone.

The button-up shirt Josie has on is cropped, so Hope’s hands slip over bare skin. She quickly falls into a trance, drumming her fingers over the curve of Josie’s slim waist. Hope can almost feel Josie’s body heat at the touch and the tips of her lips lift smugly, her thumb dragging a path over the mole near Josie’s belly button.

“You should buy this.” Hope suggests. She clears her throat a moment later, her embarrassment spreading at how low her voice sounds.

Is she really so weak that this is all it takes? A cheap, skimpy costume and Hope wants to fall to her knees?

“I couldn’t.” Josie shakes her head. There is a good-natured smile on her face, but sadness is melted into her eyes. “I’m not really attractive enough for this type of stuff.”

Hope scoffs. “Who told you that?”

“You.”

Hope feels the word like a punch to the stomach, but she can’t be angry with Josie for saying it. It’s true. Hope has spent years ridiculing Josie relentlessly, tearing her down every time she saw a bit of beauty in the other girl. She had been cruel and a coward.

Well, she’s still a coward, but she’s trying to be less cruel.

“I’m sorry.” Hope says sincerely.

Josie won’t meet her eyes. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not.” Hope insists. Guilt weighs on her head, heavy enough to drive her down into the floor. “I was lying. Trust me, you’re very attractive.”

It doesn’t work. Josie still shakes her head, shying away from Hope’s words and her touch. It only makes Hope feel worse, seeing how stubborn Josie is about her appearance. Hope locks her arms tighter around Josie’s waist so she can’t squirm away.

“Your nose is cute.” Hope blurts, feeling ridiculous for it but happy that it gets Josie to pause.

“My nose is cute?” Josie questions, obviously a bit unbelieving.

“Yeah.”

This is difficult for her. Hope doesn’t want to say anything that will accidentally upset Josie. Plus, she finds it rather hard to be brazen when Josie is peering down at her like this. She feels as if Josie is cupping her hands around her heart, still figuring out whether she should crush it into a million pieces or not.

“And, uh.” Hope continues, her eyes reflexively dropping to the floor. “Your smile is… it’s just so pretty. I really can’t help but laugh when I see it.”

Silence is born, lives a full life, and dies before Hope finally decides to look up at Josie once again. She opens her mouth to apologize or take the words back, but she only gets a glimpse of brown eyes before Josie is sweeping her into a kiss.

Hope rocks back against the door, her fingers digging deeper into Josie’s sides to keep the balance. She feels a hand slip into her hair and sighs contentedly, opening up to the warmth of Josie’s mouth that is growing more and more familiar.

It always astonishes her how much she enjoys this. Hope has spent years kissing boys and having them grope at her body with abandon, but nothing comes close to the sweetness of Josie’s lips.

Josie leans away abruptly, panting into the space between Hope’s shoulder and neck. The heavy breaths only serve to make Hope’s craving grow. She shuts her eyes hard enough to hurt and allows her hands to drop from Josie’s waist, her fingers turning to fists in no time at all.

This sudden desperation is so embarrassing, but they’re going _slow_.

“I can’t believe you’re actually wearing this.” Josie whispers, her eyes open and roaming Hope’s face.

“Shut up.” Hope grumbles, unable to sound angry as a smile lights up Josie’s face. All Hope wants to do is kiss it off of her.

Their foreheads bump with every breath. The action feels like a plea from the universe, every nerve in her body calling out and begging Hope to _take_.

Honestly, Hope doesn’t know what she’d be taking. Josie’s virginity? She likes the sound of that, but the thought of it is blurry in her mind.

Hope hasn’t seen any porn. Every sex ed class she has been forced to sit through has explained how sex goes between a man and a woman, but never two girls. Hope has the sneaking suspicion that there are a couple people she could ask, but all of those options sound horribly embarrassing.

Penelope and Maya would probably fill her in, but she couldn’t escape that conversation without explaining why she wants to know. Josie seems to know a few things, though Hope figures she couldn’t ask Josie about Josie. The only other person Hope thinks of is Landon. She got a horrifying glimpse of his browser history once, which leads her to believe he knows more about lesbian sex than her.

That idea sounds… terrifying.

“I still want pictures.” Josie says. She seems to randomly change the subject when she wants them to cool off. “I need a contact photo for you.”

“Use my yearbook picture.” Hope frowns as Josie continues to ignore her and get her phone out, but she doesn’t attempt to hide herself.

Hope stays still while Josie snaps a few pictures, keeping her arms crossed the whole time so Josie knows just how displeased she is. Honestly, she stops caring after Josie takes the first photo. Josie has this delighted little grin on her face the whole time and it makes any embarrassment Hope feels fade away.

“What if I want pictures, too?” Hope counters. She pushes off of the door for the first time in a while, joining Josie in the middle of the room.

She’s mostly joking but she really wouldn’t mind having the memory of this in her camera roll. Josie looks nothing short of amazing in her tiny skirt and skimpy little top.

Hope is kind of obsessed with the costume.

“No way, you can practically see my whole ass.” Josie complains and slaps Hope’s arm a second later when Hope’s eyes drop to check that notion.

Hope puts her gaze somewhere more respectable, mortified by the fact that she had done that unconsciously and not as a joke. Thankfully, Josie seems to think that she was doing it to be comical.

“Besides.” Josie continues, her voice morphing into something honeyed and teasing. “If you really want to see me half-naked, you can just draw something.”

“ _Hey_.” Hope scowls while Josie barks out laughter.

Hope’s face tints red, watching Josie duck away from Hope’s hands and lean against the wall to steady herself. Hope wishes they could just forget about that. She was bored and worked up that day, she never intended for Josie to actually see it.

Why hasn’t the janitor washed it off yet?

“You’re mean to me.” Hope complains. She’s aware of how ironic it is that she’s saying that, but she delights in the way it gets Josie to cut down on the laughter.

Josie stares at Hope until her lingering chuckles finally fade away, leaving them in silence. The only sound is a faint buzzing that has accompanied their conversation the whole time, probably from one of the lights hanging over them.

The buzzing slowly begins to be drowned out by the beating of Hope’s heart, which grows louder in her ears as Josie seems to focus on her. Josie steps closer and Hope tries to retreat, but Josie gets to her before she can reach the door. Josie’s hands slot onto Hope’s hips, feeling so solid and hot that Hope nearly melts into a puddle.

“Aww.” Josie coos, her bottom lip jutting out in a way that feels entirely too teasing. “I’m sorry, baby.”

Hope trembles, her bones rattling hard enough in her body that her knees threaten to crumple and drop her weight. She’s suddenly very grateful for the door behind her and Josie’s hands propping her up, otherwise she might be jelly on the floor.

“Baby?” Hope questions, flushing at her stutter. The pet name strokes the flame between her legs, her body hot in an unfamiliar way.

Josie hums and tips closer, causing their skin to brush. Heat crackles and pops between them as their lips nearly connect. Hope is about to allow her eyes to flutter shut when she hears a faint clicking sound and is stumbling backwards out of the dressing room.

“I have to change.” Josie informs her, barely able to contain the smirk clearly crawling across her lips. “See you in a bit, Piglet.”

Hope huffs as Josie closes the door, effectively shutting her out. She wants to bang on the wood until Josie lets her inside, but she forces herself to calm down. She figures she deserves to be teased after all of those years of bullying.

Plus, she’s Hope Mikaelson. She can’t stoop to the level of a teenage boy and grovel on her knees for Josie’s affection.

No.

She _won’t_ do it.

Hope returns to her own dressing room. She tries to catch her breath once she knows she has some privacy and focuses on getting the dumb costume off. Hope has the fabric pooling around her waist when she hears her phone vibrate where she left it on her piled-up uniform.

She picks up her phone and unlocks it absentmindedly, expecting to see a text from her mom about dinner or Maya asking her for help with the homework.

It’s Josie.

Very scantily clad Josie, posing in her little schoolgirl outfit and staring innocently at the camera. Hope grips the phone hard enough to break it, drinking up the copious amount of bare skin shown in the picture.

“Fuck.” Hope breathes, unexpectedly loud.

Josie’s giggle can be heard from the other side of the wall.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The piglet pic of Hope on Twitter has blessed my eyes

Once Josie has stripped herself of the ridiculous costume, she folds it carefully and stuffs it back into its packaging. As much as her instincts tell her to return it - having _zombie schoolgirl slut_ on a receipt isn’t on her to-do list - she finds the idea of buying it awfully tempting.

Josie, caught up in her thoughts, unconsciously runs her finger over the display picture. She never thought hanging out with Hope Mikaelson would be so easy, but it is. Hope is surprisingly docile away from a crowd.

If only Josie could trap them here forever, ensnared in the peacefulness of a nearly deserted costume store.

“Josie?” Hope calls from outside. The last thing Josie heard her mutter was a rough swear, but Hope’s voice is a lot clearer now.

Josie exits the dressing room in lieu of responding and immediately spots Hope waiting for her right outside, holding the Piglet costume and something else that’s tucked under her arm. She tries to catch a glimpse of it but Hope leans away quite obviously, so Josie pretends to have gone momentarily blind.

She won’t ruin the surprise.

“Are you buying that?” Hope taps the costume’s package needlessly. Her eyes have been glued to it since Josie stepped out.

Josie nearly giggles at Hope’s hopeful expression. It feels as if she has entered an alternate universe where Hope swapped brains with a teenage boy, but Josie gets it. She feels the desperation - the strong pull of a budding relationship.

“Are you buying _that_?” Josie counters, eyes flickering down to the Piglet onesie.

“Yes.” Hope admits after a moment, not meeting Josie’s gaze, appearing a little shy about it. “It’s comfortable. I’m not wearing it to the party, though.”

“Party?”

“Yeah. Seb always throws something.” Hope explains while they walk up one of the aisles, heading towards the front of the store.

It’s strange, hearing Hope refer to Sebastian that way. It feels like Hope is telling Josie about an entirely different world. Sebastian only lives as a bully in her memories, nothing but a fleeting back and a flash of blue from the slushie in his hand. Hope says his nickname fondly, like maybe she’s attended his parties enough to be comfortable and teasing with him.

It churns Josie’s stomach slightly, a mix of wistfulness and jealousy swirling just under her bones. She swallows hard, pushing the feelings down.

If she lingers on the past too much, this thing she is doing with Hope will never last.

The boy behind the cash register scans their items one by one. They pay separately and quickly, piling their things into plastic bags. Hope moves much faster than Josie, almost frantic in a way that suggests again she’s hiding her party costume.

All Josie catches is a glimpse of ruby red fabric, but she shoves down her curiosity. She’s sure she’ll see it at some point, since Hope has a habit of showing off.

Josie stands outside of the store with Hope minutes later, lingering a respectable distance away. No one is really around and those that are don’t seem to be paying attention, but Josie is still wary of accidentally doing something that sets Hope off.

Wind whips by them suddenly, the strong breeze tousling auburn hair in a way that is insanely attractive and unfair. Is Hope secretly in a shampoo commercial or something?

“I don’t want to go home.” Hope says.

To Josie, the admission seems as if it was blurted out of nowhere. If she had been paying less attention to Hope’s hair and more to everything else, she might have noticed how white Hope’s knuckles have gone where they grip the bag. Josie _does_ notice the more obvious, slightly sad expression on Hope’s face.

“Okay.” Josie agrees easily. She doesn’t want to return home just yet either. “I think there’s a coffee place around here. We should probably talk, anyways.”

Hope nods shortly. Josie’s fingers twitch with the need to grab Hope’s hand, but she manages to lead them down the block without doing so.

Truthfully, Josie knows the way to the cafe by heart. Her sister used to go to therapy down the street, so Josie has spent many long afternoons finishing her homework over a cup of coffee. These are details she doesn’t tell Hope, because she isn’t entirely sure if she can trust the other girl with personal details that aren’t about herself.

They walk in silence, reaching the shop in a couple of minutes. It feels like hours, every second prolonged by their brushing hands and the torment that comes from being unable to clasp them together.

“You should get decaf.” Josie advises, seeing Hope bounce on her heels.

Not that Josie isn’t restless herself. Her fingers fiddle with her wallet while she speaks, glad for the small distraction. Anything is better than blatantly staring at Hope in public and looking like an idiot.

“Decaf is for the weak.” Hope replies, still bouncing. Josie watches the peculiar action for a moment before her head tilts and her eyebrows raise in realization. Hope must notice the change in expression, because she crosses her arms over herself defensively. “What?”

“Are… are you trying to get on your tippy toes to see?” Josie asks, careful to not let her smile slip.

Hope blushes instantly, scowling. “No.”

Josie’s eyebrows meet her hairline and Hope locks her jaw, looking a bit embarrassed and annoyed. They stare at each other for a long minute until Hope gives in, breaking eye contact to rock forward and up and read the list of beverage choices.

Josie snickers, her palm laid flat on her mouth to muffle it. She catches Hope’s glare and quickly sobers.

“Do you think they have biscotti?” Hope questions, very clearly trying to take the attention off of her height.

“Probably.” Josie shrugs.

They move up to the front of the line. Josie orders a large iced coffee while Hope, thankfully, opts for a bottle of water and biscotti.

“That’ll be $7.50.” The employee tells them.

Both girls nod and reach for their money. Hope tries to pay, but Josie bats her away since she already has her wallet out and Hope bought her last cup.

A penny slips out from Josie’s wallet, tumbling to the floor. Josie looks down when she hears the faint metallic ringing and kneels to grab it at the same time Hope dips to do the same. They both grasp it, the coin too small and their thumbs too big so their fingertips brush momentarily.

Hope yanks her hand away a little too fast for comfort. It seems unnecessary, since no one is watching the interaction and coin grabbing is hardly romantic. Still, Hope appears a bit uncomfortable with any public contact at all, so Josie backs off.

Josie gives the barista her money. By the time she gets her change back, the lingering feeling of disappointment at Hope’s reaction has worn off, though Hope wears a guilty expression.

“Sorry.” Hope whispers, causing Josie to sigh. She wishes that the apologizes would stop.

“It’s fine, really.” Josie stresses, looking pointedly at Hope until the guilt visibly eases off of her face. “We should probably talk about boundaries.”

“Boundaries?”

Josie hums in confirmation as someone sets their drinks out on a counter. She takes her stuff while Hope gets hers. They hold off on conversation until they find a quieter spot to sit, off in the back on a black leather couch that has enough space for Josie to stretch out her legs.

She keeps her legs to herself despite the extra room, leaving a whole cushion between her and Hope. It feels like an ocean to Josie, but it keeps the panic from flashing across Hope’s eyes.

It also seems to help that everyone inside is focused on something else. People are talking amongst themselves or busy with swallowing down large amounts of coffee and various pastries. The clinking of cups and scraping of forks against plates creates helpful background noise.

“So.” Josie begins, not unawkwardly. She has no idea how to do this, but Hope keeps on looking at her like she leads Pride parades every summer, and Josie doesn’t want to disappoint. “I’m guessing no affection in public?”

After a slight pause, Hope nods. “Yeah. I’m not really ready for that. Sorry.”

“No more apologizing. It’s fine.” Josie assures her, and it _is_.

Sure, it sucks. Josie is a very touchy person, she is used to cuddling with Lizzie and intertwining her arm through MG’s at random, but she doesn’t need it to survive. They can touch in private, which will probably work out well since most of their interactions take place inside of a locked bathroom.

“And I don’t really want to tell people.” Hope clarifies.

Josie nods. That was expected.

“Maybe someday.” Hope continues, a faraway look coming to her eyes as she begins to ramble. “Like, later, later. In college. I don’t even really know if I’m…”

Hope trails off, taking a large bite of her biscotti and chewing it thoughtfully. Josie sips her coffee, allowing Hope’s mind to wander for a little while. She wishes Hope would be able to say the word gay (or bi or pan - Josie isn’t sure who else Hope is attracted to) in relation to herself, but she won’t push.

Not now, not ever.

Josie draws her straw between her teeth and nibbles on it unconsciously. She stops once she notices that she is giving into her habit and instead focuses on draining at least a quarter of her cup.

“Uh.” Hope says, the noise so quiet that Josie barely hears it over the cafe’s chatter. “What about sex?”

Josie chokes on her drink abruptly, doubling over to cough into the crook of her elbow. She shakes violently, her eyes wide as she struggles to catch her breath and get a word out.

_Sex?_

Josie’s ears are ringing with the word. Never in her entire life did she think that Hope would be openly talking to her about the subject, especially in regards to the two of them. Hope is the leader of the Celibacy Club, for Christ’s sake. Josie thinks that she is well on her way to a heart attack.

Hope looks around frantically and hesitates before awkwardly patting Josie’s back, doing nothing to ease the burn in Josie’s throat.

Once Josie’s coughs finally fade away, she feels Hope’s hand leave her back. When she collects herself and turns to face Hope, she finds that Hope has retreated back to the other side of the couch. This time, Josie is glad for it. She doesn’t think that she could take having this conversation with Hope so close.

It would kill her.

Seriously, Hope would put those lovely blue eyes on her and say the word sex and Josie would drop dead like the horny teenager she is.

“You’re president of the Celibacy Club.” Josie points out. It’s all she can think to say.

“Yes.” Hope nods, because it’s a fact. “But only because my dad wanted me to be and it kind of fended Landon off.”

Josie processes this with wide eyes and a quickly beating heart. It astonishes her, hearing all of these things from Hope now. Sure, they’ve kissed a lot over the last week (that still boggles Josie’s mind), but she can’t help but continue to picture Hope as this good girl who wouldn’t spread her legs until her thirties.

She eyes the chain on Hope’s neck, the one that leads down to the cross that must be resting under Hope’s uniform. Josie has never seen her take it off.

“We don’t have to do that.” Josie tells her firmly, purposefully not saying the word. “I don’t want you to have to do anything you’re not comfortable with or give up your religion for me.”

Josie resists the urge to go off on a tangent about how no one should give up anything for her, since she’s not really that special. She doesn’t want to have Hope pity her.

She waits for Hope’s answer, but nothing comes. Josie worries that she has somehow made Hope uncomfortable, because Hope’s skin has gone deathly red and her gaze is pointed stubbornly at her feet.

“No. I… I want to.” Hope glances back up at Josie, locking their eyes together for a burning second before looking away again. “If you want to, too. Of course. But I’d still like to wait, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay.” Josie responds from around her straw. Habit be damned.

Sex.

Sex _with_ Hope Mikaelson.

Not now, but someday hopefully. Josie swears she can feel her palms growing sweaty and her head spinning. She blinks spots out of her vision, silently hoping that Hope can’t see how she has affected her.

Hope seems more focused on slowly piecing through her biscotti, very obviously avoiding eye contact.

“Landon never really seemed okay with waiting. I mean, he said he was but I could always kind of tell.” Hope explains softly.

Josie scoffs. “He could just use his hand.”

Something bitter reaches the back of Josie’s throat. It burns hot like jealousy but feels closer to disgust. She remembers seeing Hope and Landon kiss on several occasions and suddenly her memory changes.

She used to wish that she was the one kissing Landon, running her fingers through his curls and feeling his hands on her hips. Now she wishes that Landon wouldn’t kiss either of them at all. The thought of anyone but her kissing Hope feels wrong somehow, like kicking a puppy.

“Well, he wouldn’t do that.” Hope replies. Josie stares at her blankly, willing Hope to elaborate. “It’s a sin.”

Josie blinks.

She is almost a hundred percent sure that Landon _would_ do that, but she doesn’t voice this thought to Hope.

Instead, Josie stirs the ice in her cup around. “It’s natural. Almost everyone does it.”

Hope is staring right at her now, her head tilted and her eyes wide in a way that is much too cute for this conversation topic. Josie smiles to herself. Hope looks especially pretty when she gets like this.

“Everyone?” Hope asks, still wearing the same expression.

Adorable.

“Yes.”

Really, Hope could probably combat any animal in the cuteness factor. Even those super tiny dogs with the fluffy-

“So you do it?” Hope questions, suddenly looking less cute and a lot more teasing.

Josie blushes horribly, focusing on her iced coffee. It’s nice coffee, indeed. Very cold. Good ice to liquid ratio.

“Maybe.” She shrugs.

“Honesty is key in relationships, Jo.” Hope says, because she’s evil and probably enjoys how she can easily turn Josie red.

Heat blooms on Josie’s face like she has the sun hidden under her skin. She thumbs her straw, frowning when she notices how little coffee she has left over. There won’t be anything to distract herself with soon, she’s going to have to start chewing ice.

“Okay, fine. I do.” Josie admits. Hope is smirking at her as if she’s won something. “Again, most people do. Stop looking at me like that.”

Hope does not stop looking at her like that.

“Stop.” Josie whines, stretching out her leg to kick Hope.

How can the girl be so pretty and adorable, and yet so annoying? Josie wants to slap her and then maybe kiss her a little bit.

Hope laughs, her fingers wrapping around Josie’s foot. Josie frowns at being trapped but doesn’t make much of a fuss as the sweet sound reaches her ears. It’s like magic. Her whole body softens at Hope’s quiet giggles, her heart growing light without Josie’s permission.

“You sound like a child.” Josie complains, but her smile must betray her because Hope doesn’t seem offended at all.

“At least I don’t have a baby face.” Hope counters. She gives Josie’s foot a little teasing tug before releasing it.

“You’re the one that fit into that Piglet costume.” Josie huffs and brings her legs to her chest protectively, wrapping her arms around them. “Correction: that _child’s_ Piglet costume.”

Hope scoots forward, now sitting on the middle cushion. Josie notices that they’ve gotten a lot closer with time but doesn’t voice it, afraid that pointing it out will cause Hope to move away once again.

“This is what I meant when I said you’re mean to me. You’re a horrible date.” Hope grumbles, though something about her tone lets Josie know that she doesn’t mean a single word.

Wait.

“This is a date?”

“Well… no.” Hope’s eyebrows pinch together for a second there, a thought visibly plaguing Hope’s mind before smoothing out. “Dates are supposed to be proper and _nice_. If this were our first it would suck, you kicked me and called me a child.”

Josie pouts. “You said I have a baby face.”

Her bottom lip juts out without her meaning it to. Josie barely notices what she’s doing until Hope glances down, her eyes tracing the movement of Josie’s mouth.

Subtlety apparently isn’t in Hope’s vocabulary.

“Hope.” Josie whispers and Hope’s attention snaps back up to a more respectable part of Josie’s body. “Having fun there?”

“Shut up.” Hope frowns, blushing beautifully.

Josie giggles and tips forward as much as she can without making their proximity seem suspicious. “Do you want to go on a date with me?”

Hope nods. The expression that graces her face is soft and secret, so vulnerable that it steals Josie’s breath right out of her lungs.

“Yes.”

—————

Honestly, Lizzie is starting to wonder if Josie has been kidnapped or not. She keeps disappearing for long periods of time - not coming home after school, showing up late to class, taking the longest bathroom breaks known to man.

Today is a good example of that. It’s been hours with no sign of Josie, even though school ended forever ago. Lizzie would know, since she was forced to wait outside in the parking lot alone like a loser.

Josie is going to pay.

Well, she’ll pay if she isn’t already dead in a ditch somewhere. Lizzie will just have to figure out how to resurrect her and _then_ kick her ass.

Lizzie huffs, gnawing half-heartedly at a turkey sandwich. The first few bites had been delicious, but now when the food hits her tongue she barely tastes it. Lizzie swallows and frowns a second later, shoving the plate away. It feels rough going down her throat. Her anxiety is ruining her food, the worry completely dismantling her taste buds.

Where is Josie?

As if on cue, a car rolls up in front of the house. Lizzie squints and presses her face up against the glass, spotting her sister in the passenger seat.

(Good. At least Lizzie’s twin powers are still working and Josie can tell when Lizzie needs her.)

The vehicle looks vaguely familiar. Lizzie might have seen it around somewhere. She must have. It’s a small town, so she’s probably seen everyone’s car at one point or another, but this one seems particularly fresh in her memory.

Maybe she saw it parked outside the school.

Whoever the car belongs to, Josie must have a lot to say to them because she sits inside of it for an eternity. It’s long enough that Lizzie tries another bite of her sandwich. She’s glad when she tastes turkey, lettuce, and cheese instead of dread.

Things are always better with Josie close. Just seeing her is calming, because it ensures that Lizzie is never alone.

Damn it.

That makes her sound so co-dependent that Lizzie can’t help but swear under her breath. She wonders what other, sibling-less people are like. How do they deal with life without their other half?

Josie finally steps out of the car. With the door open, Lizzie can almost make out the other person in the driver's seat. She leans forward, eyebrows pinched together in concentration, and tilts her head to catch a glimpse of fiery auburn hair.

Hope Mikaelson?

Yes. That’s who the car belongs to. Lizzie is sure of it now, because she distinctly remembers the time Hope drove through a puddle right in front of them and splashed dirty water all over Lizzie and Josie.

That bitch ruined Lizzie’s favorite shirt. What is she doing with Josie?

Lizzie racks her brain for an explanation. She knows that she can be forgetful and that a lot of the time she has trouble listening to other people, but she is pretty sure that Josie mentioned something about staying after school for detention.

No other details come to mind. Lizzie really tries to concentrate. The only other alternative is that Josie is keeping something from her, but Josie doesn’t do that. It’s more likely that Lizzie is forgetting things again.

What did Josie get detention for? Lizzie doesn’t know.

The front door opens quietly, but Lizzie is waiting right by it so she hears the faint creak. She looks around the doorway and spots Josie. Josie, who is currently trying to shut the door without making a sound. Josie, who is very obviously sneaking around.

Lizzie sucks in a breath, prepared to jump out and lecture her sister about the importance of answering text messages and the disrespect that comes with disappearing for hours, but then Josie does something peculiar.

Josie leans on the now closed door, her back flush against the wood and her eyes fluttered shut. She holds two fingertips to her smiling lips, pressing them there like she’s sealing a secret.

It feels strange and entirely too intimate to watch. Lizzie is about to make a quick escape and leave Josie to her weird secrets when she finally notices something. With the way Josie’s head is tipped back, Lizzie thinks that she can see a trail of fading marks down her neck.

What.

The.

Hell.

“Josie!” Lizzie steps into full view and Josie yelps, hitting her head hard on the door. “Why are you home late? Why were you with Hope?”

Josie cradles the back of her head, frowning so pathetically that Lizzie almost feels bad for scaring her. Almost. Josie has resting sad face. If Lizzie got discouraged anytime Josie pouted then she would never get anything done.

“Why are you lurking, stalker?” Josie counters, already trying to flee the scene.

Lizzie sees right through her. For one thing, she just saw the collection of hickies Josie has been hiding. For another, Josie is trying to rush up the stairs with her hands now covering the front of her face.

Totally subtle.

“I was worried, now answer the question.” Lizzie demands, following Josie up the stairs.

Josie looks shocked, as if she forgot Lizzie also has working legs. Whatever she was doing with Hope must have really wrecked her mind.

“Hope offered to drive me home after detention.” She explains.

“And you got into the car?” Lizzie questions as they go into Josie’s room (well, it’s less of them going and more Josie trying to shut the door on her while Lizzie pushes through). “Are you insane? What if that monster murdered you?”

“She’s not a monster.” Josie snaps suddenly. Lizzie takes a shocked step back, reeling.

This is new. Josie has never been this defensive of a crush before. She even let Lizzie make fun of Landon a little, though that was justified. How could anyone stop themselves from teasing Frodo Baggins?

“Sorry.” Josie sighs a moment later, probably realizing how strange it is to defend Hope Mikaelson.

Lizzie lingers in the bedroom, watching her sister curiously. Josie’s bones turn to jelly and she collapses onto her bed, whatever start of an argument they were having getting swept away in a second.

Now that the hostility is gone, Lizzie feels comfortable enough to join Josie. Josie hums quietly and wraps her arm around Lizzie’s waist, pulling her closer for cuddles. They haven’t done this in so long that Lizzie almost forgot how nice it is and immediately relaxes at the comfort.

It takes Lizzie a while to remember why she came in here in the first place.

“What’s with the hickies?” Lizzie asks.

She feels Josie tense up in her arms, but no answer comes. Shortly after, soft snores start to leave Josie’s mouth. Lizzie huffs and squeezes her, knowing that she just saw Josie’s eyes open a second ago, but Josie doesn’t budge.

Is Josie seriously fake sleeping?

Lizzie thinks about shoving Josie off of the bed, but she figures she can just question Josie later. It was probably Jade, anyways. They _did_ have a date, so that makes perfect sense, though it doesn’t explain why Josie said the date didn’t go that well.

Maybe it’s because of Josie’s crush. She must really be in deep with Hope.

Lizzie looks down at Josie’s face, moved by how young Josie can appear sometimes. She knows Josie is about a minute older than her, but it rarely ever feels that way. Josie needs someone to look out for her and Lizzie knows she should try harder to be that person.

She creates a plan right then and there.

Lizzie is going to do the impossible - get Hope Mikaelson to love Josie back.


	27. Chapter 27

“I got a letter this morning.” Mr. Saltzman says, once he has everyone’s attention. He holds up the pre-opened envelope and takes out the paper a bit dramatically. “Regionals will be in New Orleans this year.”

Excited murmurs run through the group and people start to talk at once, elated by the news. Penelope doesn’t react much, because she has been to New Orleans a handful of times already, but the giant grin Maya has on her face is enough to make her smile.

The excitement doesn’t last long, because Mr. Saltzman starts to quiet them down. Penelope knows that he is just trying to make sure they don’t get too rowdy (not that this group of nerds could ever do anything truly reckless), but watching Maya’s grin slip makes her want to get up and kill the man.

She contains herself. Barely.

“Okay, okay.” He waves a hand in the air. “We still have to do this week’s lesson.”

Mr. Saltzman turns around and walks over to the piano, where a hat filled with little papers is resting. Penelope saw it when she walked in and didn’t comment on it, hoping that he wouldn’t be so predictable and have them do something other than pick names out of a hat. Apparently, she overestimated his intelligence.

One by one, people stand up to fetch the name of their duet partner.

Penelope rolls her eyes as MG and Kaleb are partnered up and high-five. She thought they were done with duets. Or at least duets where they don’t get a say in their partners. If he let them do what they want, then Penelope could be spending her weekend at Maya’s house instead of some stranger’s.

Allowing them to pick their own duet partners would probably be pretty chaotic, though. She knows exactly who she’d pick, but what about everyone else?

Discreetly, Penelope glances between Hope and Josie. No. Hope definitely wouldn’t have the balls to ask Josie to partner up, even though she’s been so blatantly pining after that girl since freshman year.

Seriously.

Hope is looking at Josie now, staring at her with these big, lovey eyes like no one else can see how obvious she’s being.

Penelope has no idea how she is the only one who figured it out. Hope practically stalks Josie openly and once made the Cheerios figure out her class schedule, which is beyond creepy. And yet no one realizes a thing.

Hope finally pries her eyes off of Josie for long enough to stand up and get her duet partner. Penelope watches her unfold the tiny paper and release a relieved sigh.

“Sebastian Hayes.” Hope reads, looking back at the boy who simply nods at her.

She returns to her seat and goes back to eye-fucking Josie in no time. Penelope resists the urge to slap her best friend across the face just to get her to admit that she’s into Josie.

Instead of slapping her, Penelope simply scowls at the side of Hope’s head while Hope watches Josie stand to choose her partner. Josie must get someone horrible, because her face morphs into an awkward, clenched expression before she reads the name aloud.

“Landon Kirby.”

Landon grins and waves at her, oblivious to what has just happened. Josie looks thoroughly uncomfortable with the pairing, which is odd, because Penelope was pretty sure Josie is in love with the boy. There’s no time to focus on Josie though, because Penelope’s gaze flits over to catch Hope’s murderous expression.

Penelope leans over and whispers in Maya’s ear. “Are you seeing this?”

“I’m seeing it.” Maya nods. “And I am not commenting on it. Let Hope do what she wants.”

If they let Hope carry on doing what she wants, then nothing would ever get done. Hope would probably marry some beefed-up guy in college whose only personality trait is going to Harvard. Attending the wedding would be downright painful, especially when Hope would inevitably guilt Penelope into a heartfelt speech.

That can’t happen. Penelope won’t let it. Not just for her sake, but for Hope’s.

The other Saltzman twin stands. “Penelope Park.”

Lizzie sounds less than enthused and Penelope shares the sentiment. They got paired up twice in a row.

Great.

Penelope glares down Lizzie as the other girl walks back to her chair. It’s oddly pleasing to have Lizzie glare back at her. She misses having someone act as a bit of a rival, since Hope has been too busy swooning to take that role. Lizzie isn’t the ideal choice, but her glares do hold a certain flair that screams Cheerio.

She wonders why Lizzie isn’t on the team and then quickly remembers: Hope. Hope, who had basically put a hit out on Josie (and Lizzie, by association) within the first month of school.

All this effort and for nothing. Penelope went as far as locking them in a closet and they still haven’t even kissed yet. If she wants to get rid of this problem, it’s clearly going to take all of her time and energy.

She creates a plan right then and there.

Penelope is going to do the impossible - get Josie Saltzman to love Hope back.

—————

It’s strange how every month of being a teenager feels like a different universe. For example, in September Josie would have probably slapped a small child to spend hours in Landon’s house but now, in October, she finds that it’s actually very boring.

Landon is all too happy to go with whatever duet idea Josie chooses, so they settle on a song within the first hour and end up sitting around practicing.

Now that her crush has been stripped away, it’s easy to notice how boring he really is. Sure, he is still a nice guy, but he keeps on turning the conversation topic to Ewoks or whatever game he’s been playing. Josie can’t bring herself to truly pay attention.

She’s just amazed by how the power to captivate her slipped through his hands so easily. Josie used to adore every little bit of his face and now she is busy eyeing his sheets, wondering if he’ll let her take a nap in his bed.

“Anyways.” Landon says, sounding like he’s finally done speaking. “That’s how you reach level one-hundred.”

“That’s cool.” Josie replies. She smiles politely but glances at her phone, hoping Lizzie will text her to let her know that she’s outside.

Josie has no idea why Lizzie hasn’t shown up yet. It’s been hours. Lizzie got paired with Penelope and there can’t be much for those two to talk about.

Thankfully, her phone lights up with a message seconds later, but it isn’t Lizzie.

_Wanna come over?_

Josie feels a grin slip onto her face at the text from Hope. She thought that she wouldn’t be getting much attention from the other girl, due to Hope’s partner being her friend.

**Aren’t you with Sebastian?**

_I sent him home, my stomach hurts :(_

Josie rolls her eyes fondly at Hope’s little frowny face. She looks up and quickly sobers when she spots Landon staring at her, feeling too vulnerable under his gaze. Somehow, even texting Hope feels oddly intimate.

Plus, Hope and Landon didn’t break up that long ago. It might seem weird to him if Josie and Hope are suddenly ‘friends’.

Landon continues to stare at her until it gets uncomfortable, so Josie puts her focus elsewhere. She scans his bedroom for anything to distract her. There’s a football uniform piled in the corner, a dresser with a sock poking out from one of the drawers, and pictures of him and his friends taped to the walls.

Her main focus goes to the pictures. If she squints, she thinks that she can see Hope in several photos. Always smiling, always tucked under Landon’s arm, always posed perfectly like a doll.

It all looks staged. Josie wonders if Hope was ever really happy with Landon or if everything was like the pictures - fake.

Josie turns back to Landon, frowning when she notices his stare hasn’t wilted. “Is there something on my face or…?”

“Uh, no.” Landon stammers. He blinks frantically, as if pulled out of some sort of trance. “Sorry. You just look nice today.”

Well. That is surprisingly awkward to hear.

“Thanks.” Josie responds, getting to her feet. She glances out his window in search of Lizzie and sees no trace of her sister.

Josie wanders over to his dresser. She faces the wall, glad to have his eyes off the front of her face. Her phone buzzes again and she discreetly takes it back out, remembering that she hadn’t answered Hope’s question yet.

_I miss you_

Her heart stutters, the beat of it being thrown off at just a simple text. Josie clutches her phone to her chest and wills herself to calm down. She’s about five seconds away from sprinting to Hope’s house. The only thing stopping her is knowing that Lizzie would eventually have to pick Josie up from Hope’s house.

How would she explain being there? It wouldn’t make sense to say that she just walked over there for no reason.

**I miss u too but I can’t go**

Josie puts her phone back into her pocket again and lifts her head a little to examine some of the pictures more closely. It’s easy to spot Hope in them. She’s the only one with auburn hair and seems to be naturally photogenic, practically demanding the camera’s attention with just her eyes.

“That one is from last year, when we won the homecoming game.” Landon explains, pointing at one of the photos.

He must have the lightest feet in the world, because Josie didn’t even notice him stand up. Now, he is standing right beside Josie, accidentally brushing their shoulders together.

It’s much too close. Josie steps away subtly but stays close enough that she can still see the picture.

Hope is in this one, too. Her smile looks a lot more authentic here - Josie can tell by the way her eyes are crinkled at the edges. All of the football players are standing on either side of Hope, looking far too smug about being near the head cheerleader, but Hope and Landon don’t seem to be paying attention to the rest of the team.

Landon’s hands are on her stomach, tickling her sides. Hope looks as if she’s caught mid-laugh, her mouth hanging open a bit and her head tipped back.

Josie’s stomach twists into a tight knot. They look so… in love.

She feels her phone vibrate again and this time doesn’t wait a second to open it. Josie smiles down at another message from Hope.

_Please?_

Watching Hope beg to see her makes the knot untie itself, the tension inside of her loosening instantly. Josie really does want to see Hope. She can come up with a lie to tell Lizzie on the way there.

**Ok, be there in 10**

“I have to go.” Josie says, tucking her phone away. She gathers her things off the floor and puts her backpack on her shoulders.

“Really?” Landon asks, even though Josie is already stepping out into the hall. “Your sister isn’t even here yet.”

“She’s parked down the street.” Josie lies.

Stuttered words spew out of Landon’s mouth like a broken fountain, but ultimately his rambling ends in him giving up and saying goodbye to Josie at the door.

“Bye.” Josie calls on her way down his driveway.

She feels a little rude for leaving Landon alone like that, but the feeling wears off during the walk. Unfortunately, Josie can’t think of a lie to tell Lizzie. She ends up simply texting Lizzie to let her know that she’s at Hope’s and ignores the many, many confused messages Lizzie sends in return.

Josie rings the doorbell and waits patiently until the door swings open. Hope greets her with a beaming smile.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” Hope responds, moving aside so Josie can step off the porch and into the house.

As they move further inside, Hope holds a finger to her lips to signal that Josie should be quiet. They walk through the house in silence, dodging both of Hope’s parents on their way up the stairs.

Once they make it to Hope’s room, Josie allows her eyes to stray and run over Hope’s outfit. A black pair of shorts and a loose shirt that makes her appear smaller than ever. Honestly, Josie is a little surprised that Hope is actually wearing comfortable clothes instead of her uniform.

The Cheerios seem to value their uniforms over oxygen. Josie thinks it makes them look as if they’re in some weird, bitchy girl cult. She prefers this version of Hope a lot more - comfortable and resting at home.

“I missed you.” Josie admits, shutting Hope’s bedroom door and approaching the girl. She already said that in her text, but she can’t stop herself from repeating it.

Hope smirks and hooks her fingers behind Josie’s neck. “Show me how much.”

Josie gravitates towards Hope, tipping forward without another thought. She zeros in on Hope’s mouth, her hands dropping down to grip soft hips and drawing Hope closer. Her eyes flutter shut as their lips brush, but she pulls away at the last second.

“Wait.” Josie says. “Where's Yoda?”

Hope frowns, both at being denied a kiss and the mention of her pet. She turns her head, briefly looking around for the cat before returning her attention to Josie.

“He’s not here.”

A meow comes from behind Hope.

Josie chuckles and gives Hope a pointed look. Hope’s face falls, reluctant acceptance flashing in her eyes before she goes to find the animal. She fishes him out from under her bed and hands him over to Josie, scowling her way through every action.

Yoda readily curls into Josie, much like the first time Josie met him. Josie strokes her hand down his back and smiles happily when he purrs at the attention. She kisses the top of his tiny, adorable head and immediately hears a loud huff come from Hope.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Hope grumbles, holding out her arms. Josie reluctantly gives him back and watches Hope practically toss him out into the hall.

Josie is about to scold Hope for being so mean to an animal (just because cats are known for landing on their feet, doesn’t mean Hope should start chucking Yoda around) when she sees the look on Hope’s face.

Hope approaches her slowly, peering up at Josie with gigantic eyes and a sheepish smile.

“I want a kiss, too.” Hope requests.

Unable to deny her, Josie steps forward and once again pulls Hope in by her hips. They meet in the middle, Josie dipping down while Hope rocks up so their lips can press together gently.

Their movements become hurried in no time at all. Hope coaxes her mouth open easily and deepens the kiss, her hands sliding up Josie’s body until her fingers tangle into dark brown hair. Josie melts into her, loving how wonderful and familiar the action feels.

Josie really, _really_ missed Hope.

She walks Hope backwards, pleased when Hope releases a little gasp at being knocked into the wall. Josie places her hands on either side of Hope, effectively boxing her in. More noises begin to slip from Hope’s lips. Josie enjoys the muffled moans for a while, until Hope makes a pained, groaning sound and Josie stops what she’s doing.

“You okay?” Josie asks, surprised with how breathless the kissing has made her.

“Yeah.” Hope nods shortly. “My stomach just hurts.”

Right. Josie should have remembered that from the texts before she started making out with Hope.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Josie apologizes.

She genuinely feels bad and is already racking her mind for things she can do to help when Hope cups her jaw suddenly, dragging her into another kiss. Josie squeaks in surprise but returns the affection, her mind going blank.

Hope twists her fists in Josie’s sweater and tugs her in, rocking them together slightly. With one particularly hard pull, she hikes the sweater up over Josie’s belly button.

Josie leans her head away. “We’re not doing _this_ while you have a stomach ache.”

“Fine.” Hope pouts enough that Josie thinks about connecting their lips again, but she fights the urge. Hope continues to dig her fingers into the sweater. “Can I wear this?”

The request comes so quietly that Josie almost doesn’t hear it. She grins once her ears register that Hope actually said the words and steps away to pull the garment off. Thankfully, Josie is wearing an undershirt and can give Hope her clothing without having to end up standing around in her bra.

Hope looks giddy about getting to put it on and even happier when she finds that the sleeves are long enough to fall past her fingertips.

Josie grins, because what else does one do when faced with the most adorable girl in the entire world?

“Just how short are you?” She questions.

“None of your business.”

For a moment it looks as if Hope is going to say something more about Josie’s teasing, but her facial features pinch together suddenly. Josie instantly feels concerned by the pained expression and guides Hope over to the bed. 

It’s then that she notices the stray letterman jacket with _Hayes_ written on the back. Sebastian must have left it. 

“Let me make you feel better.” Josie gently pushes Hope onto the mattress and crawls onto the space beside her.

Hope’s eyes widen in surprise. “I thought we weren’t doing _that_ yet.”

That?

Oh.

“No, not with sex.” Josie hisses, scandalized by where Hope’s head is at. “Turn around.”

Hope appears unsure of Josie’s motives for a second but she obeys and hesitantly shifts onto her side. A small bubble of nerves bursts in Josie’s chest. She ignores it runs her fingers over Hope’s back, rubbing some of the tension out of her spine.

If she didn’t know better, she would say Hope is just as nervous as her.

Josie lays down and wraps her arm around Hope’s waist. She waits for Hope to relax a bit before cautiously drawing Hope closer to her, allowing her hands to wander as she tries to find a comfortable position.

One of her hands brushes over Hope’s stomach and she tries to take it away as quickly as possible, not wanting to make anything worse.

“Wait.” Hope grips Josie’s wrists and presses her palms against her stomach. Hope releases a content sigh at the warmth. “That’s better.”

Josie feels a surge of affection run through her, suddenly very protective of Hope. She snuggles close and presses a chaste kiss to the nape of Hope’s neck, deciding that they should really make cuddling part of their weekly routine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> calm before the storm


	28. Chapter 28

Josie begins to pack up her stuff, glad that her duet with Landon is over and the day is coming to an end.

Everyone moves slow and lazily, tired after a long week of hard work for Regionals. They’ve been working their asses off since the competition is tougher this time around and they have less time to practice. For Sectionals they had months to prepare, but Regionals isn’t far off from Halloween.

Josie slides between MG and Lizzie as they walk towards the door. She hears them talking about catching a movie later, but her focus is on the trio in front of her - Sebastian, Landon, and, most importantly, Hope.

“Are you taking a date to the party?” Landon asks Sebastian.

It seems a bit weird that Hope is between the two boys like that, considering Landon and Hope are exes, but Hope seems to go everywhere with someone flanking her. That doesn’t stop Josie from stirring with slight discomfort at seeing Hope and Landon together, especially when Hope barely speaks to her in school.

“Of course.” Sebastian responds, smug and confident as always. “My duet partner here is the perfect date.”

Sebastian accidentally creates a chain reaction throughout the room. Landon slows to a stop, confusion crossing his face as he blocks the doorway for everyone else. Josie also stops walking abruptly, causing Lizzie and MG to almost tumble over since they’d all been linking arms.

Everyone else stops moving shortly after that, realizing that all of the exits are blocked.

“Hope is your date?” Landon questions, as if he still can’t comprehend that.

Josie is in a similar state. She looks between all three of them, her gaze lingering on Hope. Hope hadn’t mentioned going to the party with Sebastian. In fact, Hope hadn’t mentioned the party at all since she talked about it in the costume store.

Is this why?

Dread rolls through Josie’s stomach and buys itself a motel room. Josie can practically feel it fluffing the pillows, straightening out the sheets, building a home in her body.

“Yeah.” Sebastian nods carelessly. “We _bonded_ while working on the duet.”

How could they have bonded? Hope said that she got a stomach ache that day and sent him away. Though, Josie doesn’t know how long he was over at her house before he left.

Josie stares at Hope, trying to read the girl’s mind. She wishes that Hope would look at her or at least raise her eyes a little, but Hope’s head is pointed firmly at the floor as she makes no move to correct Sebastian.

“Bonded?” Landon’s eyebrows raise, his mouth set in a grim line. _Bonding_ clearly doesn’t allude to a friendly game of Uno.

The air in the room grows thick and humid, so rough that Josie can’t breathe. She knows no one is watching her - they’re all staring at Landon and Sebastian - but she swears that the weight of the world has just landed on her head.

Sebastian only grins wider, his expression teasing, his arm falling hot and possessive over Hope’s shoulders.

“Bonded.” He confirms.

Hope says nothing. Everything about her looks uncharacteristically submissive, from the way she has shrunk under his arm to how she is allowing Landon and Sebastian to openly fight over her. It’s as if an alien has taken over Hope’s body, an extraterrestrial who has no backbone at all.

A coward.

As if hearing Josie’s thoughts, Hope’s eyes snap up randomly and meet Josie’s. Her gaze is gone as soon as it comes, back on the ground, but all Josie can see in her head is blue.

“What the fuck?” Landon seethes. He steps closer with every inch of confidence he has and still is unable to make Sebastian do more than raise an eyebrow. “You’re my best friend. I _just_ broke up with her.”

“Exactly, you broke up with her. Fair game.” Sebastian shrugs again and tilts his head to the side, a strand of his dark hair tipping onto his forehead.

Anger builds in the pit of her chest and swarms her whole body at the sight of Sebastian’s obnoxious face.

Josie almost hits him. It’s senseless, because she would never be able to explain the action or truly fight the boy off, but her hands clench into fists anyways. Hope isn’t fair game - though she looks like it, with the way she’s so casually allowing all of this to happen.

She silently wills Landon to punch the arrogant look off of Sebastian’s face, but Landon only huffs angrily before storming off into the hall and kicking a trash can over on his way out.

“Classy.” Sebastian grumbles, rolling his eyes and flicking that strand back into place.

Hope and Sebastian leave together. Just like that. Strolling down the hall as if they have been dating for years.

They couldn’t have had sex.

They just couldn’t have. Hope wouldn’t… well, maybe she would?

Josie thinks back on it. Her mind rushes through her memories faster than the speed of light. She never got any confirmation that Hope isn’t attracted to boys. They never discussed being exclusive, especially since their relationship (if Josie can even call it that now) is a secret.

That day Hope had called Josie over, Sebastian’s jacket had been in her room. On her bed.

“Josie?” MG questions, his finger carefully prodding her side. “Are you okay? You’re not moving.”

Josie stares ahead of her, through the empty doorway and at the students passing in the hall. They all blur together instantly, becoming shaky, dark figures in her vision.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” Josie breathes. She has to shut her mouth quickly because vomit almost rolls past her lips.

It isn’t a metaphor this time. Josie clamps a hand over her mouth and rushes out of the room, her mind momentarily set on finding a bathroom. It’s easy to get in one and lock herself into a stall. She knows where all the restrooms in the school are, because Hope has met her in each and every one.

Hope is nowhere to be found, now. Not in the stall, not in the bathroom, and certainly not there for Josie. When Josie falls to her knees and loses her lunch in one burning hurl, Hope is just _gone_.

She stays curled up near the toilet for a long amount of time, afraid that she’s going to throw up again but mostly not wanting to leave the safety of the stall.

The thought of Sebastian and Hope having sex is truly sickening. Not just because of the visual it provides, but because it somehow feels as if Hope has betrayed her. Does this count as cheating? Josie doesn’t even know, because they’d never actually established any true ground rules.

They just rushed into everything with their tongues, like stupid, stupid teenagers. That’s all Josie is - an idiot, who lulled herself into this ridiculous idea of Hope being a new person.

Someone knocks on her stall.

“Josie?” It’s Lizzie, judging by the voice and the beaten up Converse peeking out from the other side of the door. “Are you okay?”

Josie is able to collect herself quickly. She is used to swallowing down her emotions, so that’s just what she does. It’s not like she could explain everything and expose all of Hope’s secrets.

“I’m fine.”

“Do you want to go home?” Lizzie questions, sounding unsure.

She needs to get it together. If Lizzie can notice how horrible she is doing with ease, than Josie is doing a bad job with hiding all of this. It definitely doesn’t help that she is still hiding in a bathroom stall, cuddling up to her own vomit and a toilet bowl.

Josie slowly gets back on her feet and presses down on the toilet’s handle. The sound of water flushing fills her ears for a few long seconds. It’s not enough for her to feel totally okay, but she takes the time to make sure there are no lingering tears on her face.

“Again, I’m fine.” Josie pushes open the door and steps past Lizzie. She goes to wash her hands and subtly looks at herself in the mirror.

Her reflection gives nothing away. Josie appears perfectly happy, besides her usual pout, which she can’t really do anything about.

“Okay.” Lizzie replies, in a completely uneasy tone.

All of Josie’s focus goes on washing her hands. She wets them and squeezes minty soap onto her palm. The action of lathering up her fingers and the backs of her hands is somewhat soothing. She finds a bit of peace in the monotony and the silence that comes with Lizzie blatantly watching her.

“Can you stop staring?” Josie asks, once she is holding a clump of paper towels. “Don’t you have to get to class?”

Lizzie frowns, lingering around for a moment before leaving the bathroom. Great. Not only does Josie have Hope to deal with, but now she has gone ahead and been rude to her sister, who was really only trying to help.

She’s a dick.

Josie sighs in exasperation. She tosses the towels in the trash and goes into the hall, glad that she still has her backpack on her shoulders and can go to class without difficulty.

The next class Josie has is with Rafael, which shouldn’t be too bad. He never says much to her and usually opts to nod along to whatever she chooses to tell him. That sounds pretty nice right now.

Two things happen as Josie enters the classroom. One, the bell rings and signals that Josie made it inside right on time and two, her phone vibrates against her thigh. Since their teacher is busy setting things up, Josie gets a chance to check her phone.

It’s a text message from Hope. Josie closes it without reading a single word past the girl’s name, feeling the contents of her stomach threaten to spill out once again.

“Hey, Josie.” Rafael greets kindly.

Josie smiles as she says hello and prays it meets her eyes.

The beginning of class passes quickly enough. Their teacher launches into a long lecture and instructs all of them to start taking notes, which Josie is more than happy about because it gives her something to do for most of the hour.

By the time they’re halfway through class, Josie’s wrist is aching from writing so much. She has nearly ten pages worth of material, every word the teacher has said unnecessarily written down. Josie can’t help but allow her pen to wander to the margins, doodling mindlessly whenever there are short pauses in the lecture.

Her phone has been buzzing, every five minutes on the dot. It doesn’t help that Josie knows Hope is currently in Art and that Mr. Ryerson looks away from his students every couple of minutes to fuss around with the paint.

Josie can imagine Hope posed in front of an easel, staring intently at a half-painted canvas, a stripe of paint swiped across her cheek.

She wonders if that paint is purple or yellow. Maybe it’s the same harsh color of Hope’s hair, like a line of fire across her pale skin. Maybe it matches her eyes - though that’s nearly impossible, because they seem to change color.

Sometimes they’re as light as the sky, but other times, when Hope pants out heavy breaths between kisses, they’re _so_ dark-

“Are you okay?” Rafael asks, breaking Josie out of her stupor.

“I wish people would stop asking me that.” Josie grumbles rudely and then pauses, softening under Rafael’s careful gaze. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like a bitch. I’m just having trouble with… someone.”

For a moment, Josie can see that the gears in Rafael’s head are clearly turning. She watches him out of the corner of her eye, keeping her main focus on her notebook.

She draws two smiley faces and a nearly perfect star before Rafael says anything.

“Do you remember what we talked about at homecoming? How I said I was still getting over someone?” Rafael questions unexpectedly.

Josie nods.

“Uh, about a year ago I was dating this girl. Cassie.” He clears his throat uncomfortably, looking slightly pained in a way that catches Josie’s attention. “We got in a car crash and that’s how I ended up in this chair. She didn’t survive.”

Josie has no idea what this has to do with her, but she says the polite thing anyways. “Raf, I’m really sorry-“

“Don’t.” Rafael cuts her off, waving his hand dismissively.

He looks so tired all of a sudden, like the apologies are something he’s been through a thousand times before. Josie watches him sympathetically and sets her pen down, feeling disrespectful for doodling during this particular conversation.

“What I’m saying is, whoever you’re having trouble with could disappear tomorrow. Maybe you should answer your phone.” Rafael advises.

Josie blushes lightly, her fingers moving to ghost over the spot where her phone rests in her pocket. She didn’t think anyone else had noticed.

“You can hear that?” She questions.

He smiles and gently bumps his shoulder into hers. “I’m sitting right next to you.”

“Oh. Right.”

The bell rings, ending their conversation and signaling that class is over. Josie packs her stuff back into her bag, piling up all of her books. She wonders if she should stick around for Rafael, but he seems to notice her hesitation and politely waves her away.

When Josie leaves the room, she is pleased to pass Ethan, who she assumes is waiting for Rafael.

Josie walks down the hall in search of her friends. She knows that MG and Lizzie have classes nearby and she is now in the mood to be cheered up by their banter or comic book talk.

MG appears down the hall, stepping out of a nearby classroom while trying to balance several books in his hands. Josie speeds up, ready to approach and help him, when someone grabs her by the arm and tugs her through a door.

At first Josie yelps in surprise, but then her mind registers several things. The dainty hand placed carefully over her mouth, the strong grip on her waist, and the fact that she is currently standing in a bathroom.

Hope.

Josie shoves the cheerleader’s hand off of her lips, disgust swirling through her. Her mind jumps to dangerous places, picturing what Hope did to Sebastian with that hand.

“What do you want?” Josie asks, not caring about how rude she sounds. She’s allowed to be rude, especially when Hope has hurt her like this.

Despite the lingering pain in her chest, Josie strolls further into the bathroom. She leans against one of the sinks and crosses her arms over her stomach, trying to appear casual. It’s surprisingly easy. They spend far too much time in bathrooms.

As if to prove Josie’s point, Hope locks the door without hesitation, like this is her bedroom and not a school.

“Again, you can’t just lock the door.” Josie complains, but makes no move to unlock it. She feels safer knowing no one is going to barge in on them.

“Do you ever check your phone?” Hope questions.

Josie bristles at Hope’s accusing tone. She should be the one accusing Hope of things, and yet she can’t bring herself to. She’s too nice. It’s kind of a problem.

“I was in class.” Josie replies with a shrug, ignoring how Hope’s eyes narrow in suspicion at her response.

Hope moves to stand in front of her. Josie suddenly wishes that she didn’t lean against the sinks, because now Hope has something to trap her against. Of course Hope knows this and takes full advantage of it, holding both of Josie’s hands as soon as she is close enough to.

“Seb was lying.” Hope tells her firmly.

“Stop calling him that.” Josie snaps without thinking, acting only on her jealousy.

She always hears Hope refer to him with that nickname. _Seb_ this, _Seb_ that, as if he doesn’t have six other letters in his name. It’s positively sickening.

Hope’s lips tip up at the edges. “Is that it? You want a nickname, too? I already call you Jo.”

“I don’t want a nickname.” Josie responds defensively. It feels as if Hope is mocking her. “I want…”

Josie trails off.

She wants so, so much more. She wants to be able to hold Hope’s hand in public. She wants to throw her arm around Hope as carelessly as Sebastian did. She wants more than Hope can give.

“I want you to explain yourself.” Josie finishes her sentence finally and untangles her fingers from Hope’s. “Did you… did you two hook up or something?”

God, she sounds pathetic.

Embarrassment creeps up her spine. Josie wishes that she was able to do this without reducing herself to the sad, needy role that she always seems to take on with people she cares about.

“Ew. Of course not.” Hope scrunches up her nose. “I’m gay, I wouldn’t-“

Her words fall short, dying abruptly in her throat. Hope goes silent, the rest of her features following her nose and becoming pinched and tense.

It occurs to Josie that this is probably the first time Hope has ever said that aloud. She wants to congratulate her and sink into her arms, but she refrains, though she can’t help the warm feeling that spreads along her skin. Josie has never seen Hope look so vulnerable, even if it’s in the middle of an argument. She glues the image to her memory.

“We just agreed to start up a dating rumor. It’s not an actual relationship, we didn’t do anything.” Hope continues, once the shock of her earlier admission wears off.

Josie frowns, confused. “Why?”

“For prom, obviously. He’d make a great king and Landon no longer fits the position.” She explains, like this is a completely normal thing to say and her motives are sane. “I’m keeping up appearances.”

Josie scoffs, dodging Hope’s second attempt at clasping their hands together. She doesn’t understand why prom matters to her so much, it’s just another mediocre dance that people glorify.

It’s stupid.

It’s not like Josie daydreamed about going with Hope or anything. No, that would make her truly pathetic.

Josie gathers her courage, ready to tell Hope that ‘keeping up appearances’ hurts. That it aches more than getting shot in the chest and having someone rub dirt in the wound. She’s about to say all that and more when it occurs to her that she could scream it in Hope’s face and Hope still would not understand.

Hope is staring at her blankly. Innocently. Like she hasn’t done anything wrong and isn’t planning out an entire fake relationship over a plastic crown.

“Okay, that makes sense.” Josie nods and, when Hope takes her hands again, she doesn’t flinch away this time.

“Really?” Hope leans forward after a moment of hesitation, surprise still written across her face. “It’s okay?”

“Yeah.”

Hope waits a few seconds longer before her expression smooths out into something a lot less troubled and she tips close enough to peck Josie’s lips. Warmth spreads where they touch, even if their mouths only brush together slightly.

“I have to go, okay?” Hope kisses Josie once more and squeezes her hands before releasing her, slipping out of the bathroom with a little wave.

Josie watches how the door rattles against the wall, staring until the thump of it closing disappears from her ears. Once she knows that she is completely alone, she takes out her phone and scrolls through her contacts. She has to make a call.

Jade picks up on the second ring. “Hey-“

“What are you doing on Halloween?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the longest chapter yet

“I think this is the last one.” Hope places another one of Mrs. Hayes’ ugly vases onto a table in Sebastian’s basement.

The party starts in a half hour, though Hope doesn’t expect anyone to show up until a while later. She’s been here since school ended. So far, Hope has spent the majority of her Halloween moving expensive objects that Sebastian’s family don’t want destroyed in the mess of the upcoming party.

Hope is doing all of the physical labor while Sebastian mixes drinks upstairs, because apparently he has figured out a combination of sodas that makes alcohol actually taste good.

It’s probably just an excuse to be lazy.

It makes no sense that there is a muscled football player lounging around in the kitchen while Hope, the petite teenage girl, moves all of the heavy things.

Hope decides to go upstairs to complain about just that, but she slows when she’s halfway up the steps. She feels the weight of her phone in her pocket and stops, wondering if it would be too desperate to text Josie twice in a row.

The days leading up to Halloween have been long and tiresome, filled with rehearsals for Regionals, grueling early morning Cheerios practices, and Josie’s oddly distant behavior.

Josie has been dodging her all week - sitting far away in Glee meetings, not following Hope into the bathroom, and shortening her sentences excessively when texting. Hope has no idea what’s wrong, but she has a sudden appreciation for boys who have to deal with their difficult girlfriends.

Not that Josie is her girlfriend.

Or maybe she is? Hope doesn’t know at the moment, but she could probably figure it out if Josie were acting normal.

“Hope!” Sebastian calls. His accent has become thicker, signaling that he already had a few drinks. “Come try this!”

Honestly, Hope can’t believe that some people actually think she hooked up with Sebastian. It feels as if he is her younger brother who she constantly has to stop from showing up to school in a gaudy vampire cape.

The cape is making an appearance now. It’s the one time of the year that he can wear it without being teased, so Sebastian is decked out in a full vampire costume. He has a fancy, wine red vest on and a dribble of fake blood smeared under his lips to match. His cape is black and flowing down his back, big enough that half of it is resting on the counter near his plastic fangs.

The costume is pretty tacky. If she got a say, she would have put him in a gladiator outfit so he could be shirtless. It’s always good to flaunt the abs, especially when they are trying to look like a hot power couple.

“What’s up, Dracula?” Hope asks as she joins him.

Sebastian is stirring a bowl of punch with a giant spoon. The liquid is an unnatural purple-blue and smells like a thousand different types of alcohol mixed together. There are thin slices of oranges and lemons floating at the top, but they’re soaked through and dyed from the punch.

It looks dangerous to ingest.

Sebastian downs a cup without hesitation and proceeds to pour her one. Hope frowns at the beverage, but tries a sip anyways.

“It tastes like battery acid.” Hope coughs and covers her mouth, grimacing. It takes an insane amount of effort to swallow. “Oh god. I think I’m already buzzed.”

“Then it’s perfect.” He grins at her, clearly pleased with his concoction.

“You’re insane.”

Hope is sure that one day someone is going to die at one of his parties. Maybe not this year, but definitely someday if he keeps trying to play bartender. Hope sets her half-empty cup down on the counter, deciding not to drink anymore until people start showing up. She can’t be drunk off her ass before the music even turns on.

“I’m going to go put on my costume.” Hope tells him, receiving a short nod in return. She grabs her costume from the living room before finding a bathroom.

Little Red Riding Hood was a good choice. It makes sense because everything meshes well with her hair and a few of the Cheerios already call her Little Red, anyways.

Hope pulls the tight pants up over her hips and takes a breath (probably her last unstrained one of the night) before putting on the corset. It’s white with ruby red laces that match her hooded cape. Hope has been sort of skeptical about wearing a corset all night, but she has to admit that it’s doing wonders for her cleavage.

Plus, now she sort of matches with Sebastian. A caped couple. It’s kind of cute.

Speaking of cute, Hope wonders what Josie is doing for Halloween. She had asked twice and Josie’s only response was that she didn’t really know, but Hope wishes that she had gotten a clearer answer. Hope wants her night to end at Josie’s house. She’s hoping that Josie will answer her texts and she can go over there by the end of the party.

Hope sighs and forces a smile onto her face as she looks ahead at her reflection. She needs to get her shit together. She can’t spend the night thinking about Josie when she is supposed to be planning for prom.

The ‘bonding’ thing wasn’t enough. Only the Glee Club was there to see it and Hope doubts that they’ll gossip about her. She needs other people in the school to see her with Sebastian, so they’ll start picturing them as a couple and later vote for them when they announce their campaign.

Everything should be fine. The main rule of the night is avoiding Landon and his pouty attitude. If he wanted to be prom king, he should’ve said so a while ago.

Hope returns to the kitchen and slips into a routine with Sebastian easily. She always helps him with his parties, so it takes virtually no effort to begin setting things up without getting in each other’s way. Hope hangs a few decorations while Sebastian plugs his phone into the speakers and presses shuffle on his party playlist.

Monster Mash plays at least three times before the first round of people get there - the overly eager kids and sophomores. Next comes the lacrosse players, followed by a group of pretty girls that Sebastian rushes to greet, and soon the whole house is packed with people.

“You look hot.” Penelope says in greeting, appearing out of the shadows with Maya in tow.

“Definitely.” Maya nods appraisingly. Her eyes rake over Hope’s body in the costume, the look in her eyes heated and slightly glazed like she already had a drink or two.

Hope brushes their comments off, because she suspects they are already buzzed and don’t really mean it. Still, there is some odd satisfaction that comes with having girls telling her she’s hot instead of a boy doing it.

It lights her up, makes her stand a bit straighter and carry more confidence.

“What are you two?” Hope glances over their matching costumes. “The sexy Shining twins?”

They nod in unison, which is beyond creepy, but Hope isn’t surprised. Sometimes Hope thinks that when Maya and Penelope link pinkies like that, it connects them in more ways than one. Not in a weird horror movie way, but on a deeper level than just physical.

“We should dance.” Maya suggests excitedly. Hope and Penelope agree without question and they integrate themselves into the crowd.

Music pumps loudly around them, the thump of the bass and dancing teenagers’ feet rattling the floorboards. Hope spins and twists along with her friends, laughing freely as they dance together. It seems as if the whole house is trembling, surrendering to the mini earthquake that comes with a good party.

They only dance for two songs before Maya stops rolling her hips, getting distracted by something far away from them.

“Hey, look!” She yells over the music, pointing off to the other side of the room. “The Glee kids are here.”

Hope doesn’t particularly care about most of the Glee Club, but when she doesn’t turn her head to look, Penelope grabs her hips. Before Hope can question her motives, Penelope forcefully spins her around to face the direction Maya is pointing towards.

The first thing Hope spots is Lizzie Saltzman’s blonde head, towering over most of the people around her. Beside her is MG, who looks as if he is dressed as King Kong (lame) and beside him is… Jade St. James?

Hope tips up onto her tippy toes to get a better look. Penelope must notice what she is doing, because she lifts Hope up by the waist. With the added help, Hope gets a clear view of Jade pushing through the crowd, her arm looped through Josie’s.

Why is Josie here?

Sebastian didn’t mention inviting any of the Glee kids, though Hope knows a lot of the people here came uninvited. She just thought that Josie would have mentioned that she was coming, especially if she was going to be here with Jade.

The two girls disappear from Hope’s view in an instant. Hope scowls, hot lava rushing through her veins at the sight of Jade and Josie. They look close - much, much too close.

“Put me down.” Hope practically growls at Penelope, landing safely on the ground a second later.

All thoughts of her reputation slip away as Hope follows after them, pushing past people without thought. Later, she’ll think about this moment and scold herself for being so careless and rude to possible voters, but now curiosity stirs through her brain and her blood runs green with jealousy.

Hope finds them huddled around the drinks in the kitchen, making quite a bit of noise. It doesn’t matter, though. For one thing, it’s a party - noise is appreciated - and for another, all sounds suddenly fail to reach Hope’s ears as soon as she sees Josie.

It’s that damn schoolgirl costume again.

Josie has her hair up in one big ponytail, the dark locks looking temptingly soft. Two strands frame her face, which is covered by zombie makeup. Her exposed stomach and chest glimmers with sweat from the heat of the crowd, every bit of revealed skin shining and calling Hope in like a beacon.

Hope almost reaches out and touches Josie. She almost rests possessive hands on her hips and drops her lips to the slender curve of Josie’s neck.

Almost.

“Why the hell are you here?” Hope asks instead, inserting herself into their conversation without an ounce of hesitation.

Everyone in the kitchen tenses, except for Josie, who appears so relaxed in Jade’s arms that Hope’s blood boils. It seems no one can tell who Hope is speaking to until she pointedly directs her glare towards Jade.

“Josie invited me.” Jade shrugs, her fingers curled around the dip in Josie’s waist.

It feels like a challenge. Hope hates how Jade seems to not fear her at all, going as far to look her right in the eye, as if Hope couldn’t end her right now.

A variety of insults swirl in Hope’s head. Like, why is Jade dressed up as a slutty nurse? There is nothing sexy about hospitals, plus everyone knows the whole nurse thing died almost ten years ago.

“Let’s go dance.” Josie suggests, before Hope gets the chance to start a fight.

Her friends nod in agreement and Josie drains the rest of the liquid in her cup without flinching. Lizzie and MG walk back into the living room first, all too happy to get away from Hope, while Jade and Josie seem to linger for an extra torturous second.

It’s long enough for Hope to have a lapse in judgement, long enough for her furious expression to drop and her features to soften.

“Josie.” She clasps a hand around Josie’s bicep to stop her. “What are you doing?”

Josie blinks big, wide innocent eyes at Hope and smiles delicately. “Keeping up appearances.”

The two girls fade away like smoke, there one second and gone the next. Hope swears she can still smell Josie’s perfume over everything, sweet and tempting - roses or lavender, maybe.

Hope leans against the kitchen counter to steady herself, taking long, calming breaths until she can no longer identify Josie’s scent in her nose. She stares at the counter, her vision blurring the bottles together until all Hope sees is one swipe of dark color. She grips one mindlessly and swallows as much as she can manage in one gulp.

Even drinking battery acid can’t distract her from Josie.

From where she stands in the kitchen, she can see into the other room. The universe taunts her by having Jade and Josie positioned in full view of Hope, so Hope is practically forced to get an eyeful of their dancing.

Josie rolls her hips and shuts her eyes, her arms in the air as she immerses herself in the action. Every movement is effortless and graceful, captivating in a way that Hope is both envious and in awe of. Hope has worked tirelessly for everything she values about herself - her body, her beauty, her power. Josie just _has_ it.

In that crowd, Josie is a goddess among mortals, a wild force that no longer begs for Hope’s attention, but steals it out from under her.

When did this happen to her? When did Hope let Josie take all of her control?

Hope feels helpless, like the only option she has is to gawk at Josie from afar or give in and join her on the dance floor. Both choices have their cons, but one is a lot easier than the other. Hope lingers in the kitchen, planting her feet firmly to the floor.

Coward.

“I thought the whole point of this was for us to be seen together.” A voice comes from behind her, an arm slipping around her comfortably.

It settles on her waist - light as a feather - with no real sense of possession. Sebastian touches her without desperation, no yearning. Their romance is fake, and it will stay that way from beginning to end. Hope just wishes Josie would realize that.

“You’re right.” Hope nods. His arm squeezing her side pushes the oxygen and fire back into her lungs. “Let’s dance.”

Hope may be a coward, but she is also her father’s daughter, and she carries every bit of rage in his body on her shoulders as she leads Sebastian out onto the dance floor.

Dancing was part of the initial plan, anyways. So what if Hope positions his body in front of Jade and Josie? So what if she peers up at him with fluttering eyelashes and a flirty little smirk? So what if Hope changes every meticulously planned step in her mission for Josie?

His hands are too big on her hips, his shoulders far too broad, and his arms too thick. Every part of him is too much for Hope - or not enough, she doesn’t really know. All she knows is that dancing suffocates her unexpectedly, being touched this way by a boy closing her throat in a new, concerning manner.

Josie screwed her over.

Hope stupidly got used to the softness of the other girl and the attractive curves of her body. She isn’t accustomed to being so close to anyone but Josie, and she hates it, but she powers on regardless.

Several songs come and go with Hope clinging tightly to Sebastian’s chest, her body tipped up and his dipped low so she can peer over his shoulder at Josie. Hope steals glances whenever she can, catching glimpses of Josie gyrating around the party with Jade.

One of her glances reveals that Jade’s head has dropped suspiciously towards Josie’s neck, not touching but almost doing so.

Hope nearly cracks Sebastian’s spine with her grip, only noticing what she is doing when he pulls away to frown down at her. She murmurs an apology that he nods at, seeming mildly concerned with her behavior.

“You want to go upstairs?” Sebastian suggests. If it were anyone else, Hope would think his intentions were less than innocent, but he’s basically her brother. “You look like you need some air.”

“Sure.” Hope nods.

She becomes less troubled with Sebastian’s size when he starts to use it to push through the crowd, shoving people aside to make a path for them. They reach the stairs with ease and, once again, Hope finds herself glad that the boy is her friend.

“I’m going to use the restroom.” Sebastian tells her when they reach the hall. She nods again and he whips his cape dramatically around, causing Hope to giggle.

The door shuts behind Sebastian and Hope settles against the wall while he does his business. She takes the moment to catch a breath.

There are noises coming from the bedrooms, faint moans echoing out into the hall. Hope grimaces. Sebastian has three bedrooms up here - his, his parents’, and a guest room. All three of the doors are shut, horny teenagers hidden behind them.

Hope wills Sebastian to hurry up, realizing how it must have looked for the two of them to come up here after a half hour of heated dancing. She wants them to seem like a cute couple, not two desperate teens who can’t keep their hands off of each other.

He is taking forever.

Hope knocks on the door, annoyed. His voice comes from the other side, too quiet to be heard properly over all of the music downstairs. Hope pounds on the door again and he finally pushes it open.

Sebastian clearly wasn’t ready for her impatience, because he steps out of the room with a disgruntled look on his face, still working on buckling his belt.

“You’re the worst.” Sebastian grumbles, bumping into her needlessly.

Hope shoves him off of her. “Gross. Did you even wash your hands?”

He pouts at being shoved and comes closer, probably ready to do something asinine (like rub his dirty palms all over her arms), but a shocked noise comes from the other side of the hall.

Josie stands there, in all of her attractive glory. Hope ogles her for a second, unable to help herself. It takes her far too long to lift her eyes and notice the look on Josie’s face.

Heartbroken.

Why?

Hope looks between her and Sebastian, noting that he still hasn’t taken the time to properly put back on his pants. His cheeks are pink and damp with sweat from dancing, and Hope is equally flushed.

“Wait.” Hope sputters, forgetting Sebastian’s presence entirely. “This isn’t-“

It doesn’t matter what it is or isn’t, because Josie is gone before Hope can finish her sentence. Hope panics, running after her without another thought. She moves quickly enough that she can catch up with Josie in the kitchen and block the doorway, thankful for her athleticism and speed.

“Move.” Josie says roughly.

“No.” Hope responds, honestly a little frightened by Josie’s tone. “We weren’t doing anything. Nothing happened. He was just using the bathroom.”

Josie rolls her eyes, obviously not believing a single word Hope says. Hope doesn’t blame her. The situation looks bad and the excuse makes it seem a lot worse.

“I said _move_ , Hope. I can’t deal with you right now.” It’s a clear dismissal, one that comes with a shake of Josie’s head and a slight shine in the girl’s eyes.

Is Hope making Josie cry?

The thought absolutely crushes her. She feels as if someone has slammed into her with a wrecking ball, knocked the air right out of her lungs.

“No, please. Stay.” Hope lowers her arms from the doorway. She tries to ignore how pathetic she feels and steps towards Josie, glad that Josie doesn’t try to escape again. “I’m not lying, I promise.”

Josie still looks like she doesn’t believe a single word out of Hope’s mouth. Hope clutches at Josie’s hands, feeling as if her whole world might just slip through her fingers. She knows that if anyone were to simply look over at them right now, their position would appear far too intimate and therefore suspicious.

Hope pushes past the thought, resisting the urge to let go of Josie. Every part of her brain tells her to allow Josie to leave, but every nerve in her body screams at her to not be so afraid for once.

“Let’s go upstairs, I’ll get him to explain. We can… we can tell him everything, if you want.” Hope wonders if Sebastian would keep her secrets - if he’s really her friend or not.

She isn’t sure, but she’ll risk it for Josie.

“You’re joking.” Josie whispers, but there’s something in her eyes - something light, something hopeful.

There are also tears. Hope guides Josie away from the doorways and the prying eyes, hoping everyone is too drunk and distracted to look into the kitchen. She swipes her thumbs over Josie’s cheeks, careful not to ruin her makeup as she wipes the wetness away.

Josie is so warm in her hands, so beautiful and precious, a jewel Hope doesn’t deserve to hold.

Hope gnaws at her bottom lip. “I’m not. I’ll get him right now.”

She pauses for a moment, waiting for a response of some kind. When Hope doesn’t receive one, she releases Josie and moves to go get Sebastian. Hope gets about three steps away before Josie grabs her by the collar and yanks her backwards.

“You’re drunk.” Josie notes, as Hope stumbles into place. “Let’s not do something you’ll regret.”

The panic in Hope’s chest eases. She honestly didn’t know whether or not she was actually going to go through with it. She hopes that she would be brave enough to, but she just doesn’t know.

“I’m really sorry for not telling you about Sebastian in advance. It was a shitty thing to do. I’m an ass.” Hope bites the inside of her cheek.

Remorse is new for her.

“Yeah, you are.” Josie agrees, maybe too quickly. “But I forgive you. For real this time.”

“Good.” Hope does nothing but smile, not having enough bravado to tip forward and kiss Josie the way she wants to. “I have a question, though. Why is Jade here?”

Josie directs her attention to the floor, guilt showing in her posture. Hope raises her eyebrows, not angry but searching for an answer. If she had to guess, she would say that Josie was trying to give her a taste of her own medicine.

Mission accomplished.

“I mean Jade, _seriously_?” Hope continues, scowling at the mere thought of the girl.

Where did Jade even go?

“What? It’s not like I left you alone.” Josie lifts her head. Hope suddenly notices how Josie’s expression mirrors her’s - painfully jealous. “You had _Seb_.”

Hope has to fight back a smile at Josie’s childish tone - she sounds like someone just snatched her toy away from her. Her lips tilt up anyways and Josie shoves her shoulders slightly, not enough to push her away but enough to tell Hope to knock it off.

“But I want you.” Hope says, the admission turning her shy. She puts her focus on Josie’s many earrings, reluctant to make eye contact. “I was gonna try and come see you after the party.”

“Really?” Josie asks.

Hope nods mutely, and if there wasn’t a crowd behind them she would be a thousand times closer than she is right now.

The crowd finally notices them, the universe ripping away their bubble of privacy in seconds, and people flood into the kitchen. Sebastian, Penelope, and Maya come looking for Hope while Lizzie, MG, and Jade do the same for Josie.

At the sight of her friends, Hope leans away from Josie and focuses on pouring herself a drink. She glances at Sebastian nervously, but all he does is stare her down strangely.

“We’re playing Spin the Bottle in the basement.” Maya announces, inviting everyone.

“Pass.” Hope continues to stare intently at her beverage.

Someone comes to stand beside her, just close enough for it to be noticeable. Hope realizes it’s Josie, tipped off by the sight of Josie’s fingers instantly. They’re very… long.

Josie acts casual and gets her own drink, but the warmth radiating off of her is enough to raise goosebumps on Hope’s skin.

It’s all very subtle, until Josie’s dumb, drunken sister practically shoves Josie right into Hope. Josie accidentally stumbles into Hope’s cup, the drink abruptly tipping over and the liquid spilling out.

Spilling out, all over Josie’s white (now wet and see-through) shirt.

“Oh.” Lizzie says, quite loudly. “Silly me.”

Hope eyes the thin fabric and the skin beneath it, her mouth watering suspiciously.

Is that lingerie?

“Uh, sure. Basement.” Hope all but squeaks, cringing a moment later at how overwhelmed she sounds.

She allows Maya to drag her away, unable to remove herself from a situation that involves Josie’s breasts. Hope blinks hard, trying to rid the dirty thoughts from her mind before they reach the basement. It works (sort of), and soon Hope is looking at a circle of teenagers on the floor, who are all focused on the bottle in the middle.

Unfortunately, Landon is one of the teens. He flashes sad eyes at her as soon as he catches her gaze. Great. Hope almost got through the party without having to see him.

Still, the alternative is going back upstairs and spending time with Josie. Hope isn’t sure she could keep her cool around Josie in that outfit, so it’s best she stays here. She sits as far from Landon as possible and the rest of her friends join her.

“Are you okay?” Penelope asks. “You seemed… weird around Josie.”

Hope looks around and realizes that while Penelope is watching her, everyone else is too drunk to notice how strange Hope has been acting.

“I’m fine. It’s just Josie.” Hope shrugs her off. Something odd appears in Penelope’s eyes, just under the irises, but Hope doesn’t get a chance to analyze it.

The remainder of the Glee Club comes down the stairs. Apparently, everyone has been tipped off about Spin the Bottle and wants to watch or play. Except for Jade, who seems more interested in patting down Josie’s chest with a towel instead of the game.

Hope wishes she’d had more to drink.

“I’ll go first.” Sebastian says, once everyone has settled into the circle. He pushes the bottle and it begins to spin, quickly slowing down seconds later.

Hope silently prays it won’t land on her and releases a subtle, relieved sigh when it points to Penelope.

“Ew.” Penelope complains. “No groping.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Sebastian grumbles, crawling across the circle to peck her lips.

Hope snickers while her friends share an uncomfortable kiss, but her laughter dies down when she spares a glance at Josie. Jade is whispering something in Josie’s ear, making her giggle rather loudly.

How much has Josie had to drink?

Hope narrows her eyes, wondering if she’ll have to pull Jade off of Josie by the end of the night. It would be suspicious to do so, but there is no way she is letting them kiss.

Something warm and slightly wet suddenly brushes her cheek for a brief moment and Hope gasps, rubbing at her skin.

“Did you just kiss me?” Hope asks Penelope, who is shifting away from her.

Penelope shrugs. “It landed on you. Maybe you’d know that if you were paying attention.”

Hope blushes and forces herself not to look at Josie again. She realizes that everyone is watching her since it’s her turn and reluctantly spins the bottle. It moves weakly, barely doing two spins before coming to a stop in front of Josie.

Of course.

Dana huffs. “Well, this is boring. Hope would never kiss a girl.”

Hope stares across the circle, meeting brown eyes and immediately spotting the teasing glint in them. Her blush darkens, her skin matching the color of her hair. Dana should really just keep her big mouth shut.

“You’re right, it _is_ boring.” Lizzie says.

“Yeah.” Penelope readily agrees, as if this was rehearsed. “Let’s crank it up to 7 Minutes In Heaven.”

When did people decide to start talking with their mouths? Everyone should have their speaking privileges revoked.

Hope glares at Penelope, wishing she had heat vision to burn her face off. They’re supposed to be best friends and now Penelope is completely screwing her over for no reason whatsoever.

Bitch.

“No thanks.” Hope says uncomfortably. She avoids looking at Josie while she rejects her, but she feels the telling burn of someone staring at her.

Not just someone, actually. Everyone is staring right at her. What are they waiting for? For her to get up in front of everyone and drag Josie into the closet?

Nope.

No way.

“You have to.” Lizzie pipes up. “It’s the rules.”

“You don’t actually have to kiss. Just go.” Rafael adds kindly, apparently the only nice one in this group.

Hope supposes she can play along if everyone thinks that they won’t actually be kissing. She shrugs, acting nonchalant, and stands up. Josie does the same and they walk to the closet together at an unrushed pace, both of them trying not to appear too eager.

Soon, the darkness of the closet swallows them, and Hope relaxes at finally getting to be alone with her.

“Well.” Hope says, unsure of how to start. Are they going to kiss or talk? “At least you didn’t get Jade.”

Hope can’t be sure, but she thinks she sees Josie roll her eyes. What she _is_ sure of is Josie stepping closer to her, nearly getting rid of all of the distance between them. Hope can feel her body warmth and the reaction she has to it, the electricity that crawls up her spine.

“Are you jealous?” Josie teases, poking Hope’s stomach. Oh. She is closer than Hope thought.

“Maybe.” Hope replies, her voice a bit strained at their proximity. Josie giggles and Hope pouts. “Don’t make fun of me. You’re jealous of Sebastian.”

It goes silent for a moment. If Hope didn’t see Josie step inside with her, than she would think that she was alone.

The moment passes quickly.

Josie reminds Hope of her presence by coming even closer, her breath falling over Hope’s throat while she speaks.

“I am.” Josie admits.

She presses her mouth to Hope’s pulse point with no hesitation, as if this is something they do all the time and not the first time Josie’s lips have been on Hope’s neck.

Hope feels as if she has just tried a tiny, tiny bit of cocaine. She instantly wants more. The only thing keeping her from leaning forward into Josie and forcing the girl to kiss her harder is her pride. She doesn’t want to appear too desperate so soon.

It’s barely been a minute. They have seven.

Thankfully, Josie takes the hint that Hope doesn’t drop and the second kiss comes firmly, though still close-mouthed.

“I don’t like him touching you.” Josie continues, her hands greeting Hope’s hips and pressing her flush against the wall. “I don’t really like anyone touching you but me.”

The first meeting of Josie’s open mouth to Hope’s neck creates a wildfire. It skims along sensitive skin, not quite enough and yet already too much. Hope can’t tell if Josie is going slow because this is the first time she’s kissed someone’s neck before or if it’s because she just likes to tease, but Hope can’t stand it.

“Then touch me, already.” Hope requests.

She puts her hands in Josie’s hair, flexing her fingers to encourage her. Josie takes it well and finally, _finally_ puts her mouth to good use.

Hope’s head tips back and bumps against the wall. Hard. She grows dizzy from the impact, but what truly throws her off balance is Josie’s tongue rolling hot and unforgiving over her throat. Teeth scrape against her pulse, reminding Hope that Josie could leave a mark.

Shit.

Marks don’t mean one person finding out, marks mean _everyone_ finding out.

“Wait.” Hope gasps, pushing Josie away just enough that she can snake a hand down to undo the tie of her cape. “Not where people can see. Go lower.”

Though it’s darker than the bottom of the ocean inside of the closet, Hope can easily make out the way Josie’s eyes bulge and travel down to her chest. It looks as if Josie _just_ noticed that Hope is wearing a corset. Hope grins, having no problem putting herself on display for Josie.

It’s good to be wanted. More accurately, it’s good to be wanted by _Josie_.

“You okay?” Hope questions, delighted by Josie’s reaction. She drags her fingers over the base of Josie’s neck and feels her shaky nod.

Hope tries to keep this cocky attitude going, tries to seem calm and collected. It all fades away when Josie comes to her senses and connects their lips, her warmth bleeding into Hope and melting her from the inside out.

Seven minutes isn’t enough. An eternity isn’t enough when it comes to kissing Josie. Hope could do it for years and years and never grow tired of it, she’s that far gone.

Josie does as she’s told and goes lower, her mouth reaching Hope’s collarbones. Hope bites her tongue to keep from reacting, fully aware that if she makes too much noise someone in the basement could hear her. She knows that music is playing through the bones of the house, but she fears that Josie could pull something out of her that’s much louder.

Hope ends up moaning anyways, because it’s _Josie_ and this might as well be heaven. So what if she never gets to go there in the afterlife? She gets to experience it here and now, pressed up against a zombie schoolgirl in the dark.

Funny.

Hope sort of thought heaven would have fluffy clouds and angel wings. Maybe a harp or two.

“Time’s up!” Someone calls from outside.

Josie steps away, an obscenely wet pop resounding in the space around them as Josie’s mouth releases her skin. Hope squats slightly to grab her cape off the ground and ties it back up, looking innocent as ever.

Back to the real world.

Hope opens the door for them both, stepping aside so Josie can go first. She thinks she is being polite - remembering her manners, for once - but the universe twists the action, and Josie ends up with a faceful of slushie.

Seriously? Someone went out of their way to bring a slushie to a party, just to mess with Josie? Not even Hope would do that.

Apparently, Penelope would.

“It’s past midnight.” Penelope says, facing Josie. “The month is over.”

Hope watches Josie leave without a word, going up the stairs and disappearing into the throng of the party. Confusion and anger battle in Hope’s head for a second, her brain telling her to wonder why Penelope is looking at her like that - expectant, waiting for Hope’s next action - and her hands telling her to slap Penelope across the face.

Anger wins out, but Hope settles for grabbing her by the collar and lifting her slightly off of the floor.

“Why the hell did you do that?” Hope questions, her voice a harsh whisper.

There are still people in the basement, sitting around, doing nothing but pretending not to watch Hope.

“What?” Penelope breaks out of her grip. “It’s _just_ Josie.”

This is the second time tonight Hope has had her words thrown back in her face and it stings just as much. She presses her lips tightly together to keep herself from saying something she shouldn’t. Hope excuses herself, muttering something about needing to use the bathroom so she can follow after Josie.

Meanwhile, Penelope stumbles over to Lizzie and discreetly leans over to whisper in the blonde’s ear.

“I did it.” Penelope says, pointing towards the door Hope and Josie retreated out of. “I got them together.”

Lizzie shakes her head. “You didn’t do shit.”

“I did it.” She repeats anyways, feeling awfully proud of herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See u in a month


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna try and not use my phone all of July... that lasted about 17 hours

_“The universe is officially against me.” Lizzie huffs, arms crossed and scowl clear on her face as she complains to MG. “I can’t believe I got paired up with Penelope twice in a row.”_

_MG hums and nods along to show he’s listening, though most of his focus is on stuffing his books into his locker. He’s lucky. The universe isn’t cruel to him - he got someone nice, who won’t try to eat his guts like some sort of vulture._

_Lizzie vaguely wonders if this punishment is because she hasn’t been as nice as possible lately and is now experiencing some form of karma. She wipes that thought away as soon as it comes. Lizzie has been nothing but kind for the past few days, she’s even trying to get her sister a girlfriend._

_This is peak niceness. Someone should get her a medal or a trophy or something._

_What she’s doing is hard, even if she technically hasn’t done anything yet. Planning takes effort. The universe needs to understand how tiring it is to look at Josie and Hope now, watching them stand awkwardly on opposite sides of the hall while stealing glances at each other._

_Her sister is staring at the cheerleader with big, doughy Bambi eyes and a slightly more pronounced pout than usual._

_Exhausting_.

_Lizzie takes her eyes off of them and puts her gaze on someone closer - Penelope Park. She hopes to stare at the other girl long enough that Penelope will approach her and Lizzie won’t have to do anymore work, but Penelope’s attention is elsewhere._

_Penelope is watching Hope and Josie very obviously, and Lizzie can practically see the wrinkles growing on her face. She is wearing this deeply tired expression, like she’s been holding up a heavy weight for days and weeks and years._

_Lizzie knows that look._

_“I’m going to go and talk to Penelope.” Lizzie tells MG._

_He pats her hand kindly, lingering for maybe a little too long (but Lizzie finds she doesn’t mind as much these days). “Good luck.”_

_Lizzie slowly approaches Penelope. It’s not that she’s scared of her, it’s that all Cheerios have a habit of being rather viscous whenever they please, and Lizzie doesn’t enjoy feeling like a victim. So, she’s careful as she slides up behind her and gives Penelope a solid few seconds to notice her presence._

_“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Lizzie questions, once it gets creepy to be looking over Penelope’s shoulder for so long._

_Penelope tenses, like maybe she still hadn’t noticed Lizzie standing there or she simply wasn’t expecting the conversation topic. She gives Lizzie an odd once-over and her eyes abruptly cloud up, her expression guarded and… protective?_

_“What are you seeing exactly?” Penelope counters._

_It suddenly occurs to Lizzie that they might be in the same position. Both of them keeping a secret for someone else, unable to say anything so they don’t break anyone’s trust._

_“Hypothetically,” Lizzie begins, thinking this is the best way to go. “I could be seeing two really stupid people who need to get together.”_

_As Penelope nods, her eyes squint noticeably. A certain unexpected fondness squeezes Lizzie’s heart. She looks vaguely like MG when he is in her room, flipping through his nerdy comic book of the week._

_“Okay, well, I could be seeing two girls who need to help two really stupid people get together.” Penelope responds, then pauses. “Hypothetically.”_

_They both focus on Hope and Josie again, who are now kind of lingering by their respective lockers with seemingly nothing else to do but glance longingly at each other._

_(Cute.)_

_Barf._

_Lizzie hums, nodding. “I see what you’re seeing.”_

“That wasn’t in the binder.” Lizzie whisper-yells at Penelope, dragging her off to the side of the basement to scold her. “I made the plan very clear. Slutty dancing, drink spilling, Spin the Bottle turned 7 Minutes In Heaven. Boom. Kissing. Happy couple.”

“Fuck your binder.” Penelope replies drunkenly.

Lizzie presses a hand to her forehead, trying to reign in her anger. Things had been going perfectly fine until Penelope decided to bring a slushie into the mix (which was the complete opposite of subtle). Lizzie knew she should have done this alone, she was doing most of the work anyways.

The world is spinning rapidly around her, the mix of alcohol in her system and the thumping music doing nothing to calm her down.

“Stop stressing, Beth.” Penelope continues, only bringing Lizzie closer to snapping.

She loathes being called Beth. Sure, her name is Elizabeth, but out of all the nicknames that could come with it, Beth was her least favorite. Lizzie was perfectly fine, Liz sounded a bit too old, but Beth grated sharply on her ears.

Lizzie is about to repeat these exact words to Penelope for the tenth time when she feels two hands settle on her shoulders. She nearly jumps right out of her skin, but Penelope weighs her down. Lizzie is going to ask what the hell is happening, but her words fall short as Penelope begins to rub small, strong circles into her back.

It’s… strangely nice.

“What are you doing?”

“Hope likes this when she’s angry.” Penelope explains. “And Hope _likes_ Josie, which is why I know she is somewhere with her right now.”

—————

The cool air on Josie’s body reduces her skin to nothing but goosebumps. Josie has to admit that slushies feel a thousand times colder when she is standing alone on a sidewalk in a skimpy outfit, being swayed back and forth by the wind.

“Cold?” A voice comes from behind her.

Josie is startled until she realizes it’s Hope. She nods mutely, trying not to appear as surprised as she really is. She knows this party is important to Hope, so Josie wasn’t expecting to have anyone follow after her - yet here Hope is, untying her cape and carefully draping it over Josie.

“Sorry about Penelope.” Hope continues, her fingertips brushing Josie’s neck as she speaks.

It’s hard to focus for a variety of reasons (Josie is trying to cover up her chest in an effort to not catch hypothermia and Hope in a corset will always be distracting), but the main reason is Josie can now see the obvious marks spanning along the base of Hope’s neck.

Josie reaches out and thumbs one of the bruises, oddly pleased with the rosy red color. It feels nice to have a physical sign of their relationship and not just hidden details.

Her finger must skim across Hope with a little too much pressure, because Hope exhales heavily enough for it to be noticeable. Josie pulls her hand away, bashful now that she’s been tugged out of her trance, and shyly wraps her arms around her stomach.

“You can’t go back into the party like that.” Josie whispers, chewing her lip thoughtfully. “Everyone will know that I…”

“I wasn’t planning on going back in.” Hope interjects. Josie is glad for it, because being slushied has taken away a lot of her bravado from earlier.

Still. Hope not going back into the party? That makes no sense, she probably has plans to do things with Sebastian.

Ignoring how much that thought disgusts her, Josie starts to shed off Hope’s cape so she can return it. Hope doesn’t allow her to complete the action, stilling Josie’s hands before Josie can even undo the first bit.

“I said I want to end my night with you, so I’m ending my night with you.” Hope explains firmly, almost like she’s giving an order. Despite her tone, her eyes are unflinchingly soft. “Plus, you look cute in my cape.”

Josie would laugh at the odd compliment if it weren’t for the loving expression on Hope’s face. Josie’s heart melts easily, absolute mush in front of Hope and her random affection.

She nods and inspects the street they’re on. “Okay. I think my house is near here.”

They walk a block in silence until they finally start to act like themselves again. As the party’s music begins to fade away, Hope allows their hands to brush teasingly, and Josie stops stealing nervous glances at the girl beside her.

“So.” Hope clears her throat. “You never really answered my question about Jade.”

Josie feels heat come across her face at the conversation topic, but it’s probably for the best. She was getting awfully cold and she suspected Hope would question her about Jade at some point, anyways.

“I kind of… hired her.”

“ _Hired?_ ” Hope questions, overly loudly. “Like a prostitute?”

“No.” Josie turns redder than ever, frantically shushing Hope.

She can’t believe Hope just yelled ‘prostitute’ at the top of her lungs in their quiet, peaceful neighborhood.

The truth is, Jade had been almost oddly happy to help Josie out with Hope. All it had taken was a mention of free drinks and driving someone in the New Directions insane, and Jade was down for anything - apparently, two of her many loves in life are messing with the competition and tequila.

Josie provided both.

No harm, no foul, no hurt feelings. It was a pretty good deal, but now Josie feels embarrassed about actually having to explain it aloud.

“We just… made a deal.” Josie says lamely. She catches Hope’s suspicious look and points her eyes elsewhere. “I wanted to make you jealous.”

“Well, it worked.”

Josie peers up off the ground at the admission. She isn’t surprised to see Hope staring elsewhere, except Hope’s gaze has gone higher than Josie’s did. Hope’s head is on the path to the moon, her eyes and skin illuminated by its faint, grey light.

How is she so effortlessly pretty?

“I’m sorry.” Josie breaks the silence, pushing guilt out of her mouth with her tongue. “I could have just talked to you instead of being immature, but I didn’t think you would’ve understood-“

“No, I needed a push.” Hope quiets her.

“Still. It was shitty of me.” Josie stresses, causing Hope to scoff beside her.

“You’re not the shitty one in this relationship.”

They reach Josie’s driveway and stumble up the lawn, both of them a little unsteady due to the alcohol. Josie wouldn’t say that she’s drunk, but she also isn’t sure if she could successfully walk in a straight line right now. It’s no matter, because Hope notices her slight wobbling and steadies her with a hand on her waist.

All of the lights in the house are off and no one appears to be home, but Josie isn’t entirely certain that they won’t find her dad brooding in the living room.

“Let’s go to the backyard.” Josie suggests.

Hope doesn’t protest - in fact, she looks a little relieved. She must not be ready for the whole ‘meeting the parents’ thing, even though Hope technically met Alaric years ago. Things are definitely different now.

Josie unlocks the gate and they slip into the backyard silently. While Hope wanders towards the treehouse, exploring the new space, Josie tries to locate the hose in the dark. She should probably wash off before her hair becomes matted or the dye sinks into her skin too much.

She eventually finds the handle to turn it on, but can’t spot the hose’s end. Josie figures that it will be easier to find once water is coming out of it and twists the handle.

“Hey!” Hope yelps, jumping away from the hose. Her legs are now noticeably wet.

Well, there’s the end of the hose.

“Oh.” Josie says, her mind working two steps too slow. Once she catches up, a small smirk forms on her face at seeing Hope’s startled expression. “You look like a puppy getting a bath.”

Hope scowls and (since she is not actually a puppy, but a human with hands capable of grabbing things) picks up the hose. Josie tries to move, but Hope aims it at her before she can get away and soon she’s covered from head to toe in water.

Fuck. It’s freezing.

“I think you make a cuter puppy, actually.” Hope grins at her innocently.

Josie glares. “Oh, it’s so on.”

Water goes everywhere as the two attack each other, giggling like children and twisting around wildly as they both try to spray water in the other’s face. It’s a solid push and pull - Josie accidentally swallows a mouthful of the liquid, Hope’s entire upper body ends up soaked, and in the end they go tumbling down onto slippery grass.

Josie is momentarily winded by Hope landing on top of her and gets no chance to protect herself as Hope crawls into her lap, hose in hand.

“Wait, wait, wait-“ Josie sputters, until she feels water rushing over her dirty hair and a gentle hand following.

Is Hope washing her hair?

Josie hesitantly drops her hands from her face and peers up at Hope, watching in silence as Hope works.

Careful fingers drag through the strands, only pausing to scrub along her scalp. A chunk of ice sits heavily on the middle of Josie’s head, but Hope is quick to wipe it away with both her hand and the hose. When Josie feels Hope’s palm stroke over the back of her neck (probably unnecessarily), she shuts her eyes and allows herself to lean into the affection.

“Good?” Hope asks, working her fingers more firmly now.

“Mhm.” Josie hums breathlessly, rendered unable to do anything other than relax into Hope’s touch.

It’s a simple gesture and yet Josie’s heart opens up. Something about being under Hope like this turns her vulnerable. Her bones soften into silk, her body slumping into the grass - into _Hope_.

The world is silent bliss for a few long seconds until Josie hears Hope take a stuttering breath above her.

“You’re so pretty.” Hope whispers, as if she’s afraid to share this secret with the world. “I want to paint you.”

“With clothes this time?” Josie questions.

She only cracks open her eyes to see Hope’s answering blush, but when she does Hope flicks water at her forehead. Josie gets the message and darkness envelops her vision once again.

“Don’t tease.” Hope grumbles. If Josie focuses, she swears she can still see the scarlet on Hope’s cheeks.

Hope turns off the hose and sets it elsewhere, abandoning it in favor of running both her hands through Josie’s hair. All of Josie’s nerves stand to full attention, pleasure rolling down her spine at the firm press of Hope’s fingers. She can’t help but make a little noise as Hope slips her hands down into the tight space between Josie’s shoulders and the ground.

It’s over far too quickly.

Hope pulls her hands away without warning, causing an immediate frown to grace Josie’s face. She blindly feels around for Hope until she gets a hand clasped around Hope’s wrist and can anchor Hope down to her once again.

“No. Don’t stop.” Josie instructs, barely noticing how Hope’s face has grown really, really red.

Hope swallows thickly. “Okay.”

Pleased, Josie molds back into the grass again. The sweet scent of damp flower petals surrounds her, along with the heat from Hope’s body. Josie thought that she would be cold, but Hope seems impossibly warm for some reason. It’s comforting enough for Josie to feel exhaustion blur at the edges of her senses.

Josie yawns and squirms while she does it, pausing when she hears Hope suck in a sharp breath.

“You okay?” Josie asks, genuinely concerned. Why does Hope look so… panicked?

“I’m great.” Hope nods, the whole movement jerky and a little odd. “It’s just, you’re… you seem like you might fall asleep and we can’t sleep togeth- out here. We can’t sleep out here.”

Bizarre.

“Okay.” Josie says slowly, inspecting Hope carefully.

She looks a little flushed and is very pointedly not making eye contact, but Josie comes to the conclusion that Hope is fine and probably acting strange due to the alcohol or something.

It’s fine.

“Oh, look.” Hope stands in a flash, leaving Josie to fend against the cold herself. “Is that a treehouse?”

It is very obviously a treehouse. Josie isn’t sure what else the miniature house in their tree would be, but she plays along anyways and gets up to join Hope by the ladder.

“It’s not really stable.” Josie explains. “My dad built the base. We were supposed to do the rest together, but he sort of just... gave up.”

_Gave up on us,_ Josie thinks, remembering how she had spent that summer alone with Lizzie. They’d been riddled with cuts and splinters by the end of it, but the treehouse still stands and so do her fond memories.

Sometimes it shakes if there are more than two people inside of it, but luckily Josie doesn’t have more than one sibling. They also never use it during the summer, since it traps heat to the point of being excruciating.

“It’s probably warmer up there.” Josie continues. “Though, it may break if we move around too much.”

After testing the ladder’s durability, Hope shrugs, seeming to not care about the idea of them being crushed under a bunch of wood. Josie agrees. Now that they aren’t touching, she feels as if the cold will freeze her solid.

“After you.” Hope gestures up the ladder.

“So polite.” Josie teases. She focuses on climbing up without looking too uncoordinated, though it’s hard with how slippery her hands are.

Thankfully, Josie reaches the top without doing anything embarrassing. While she waits for Hope to join her, she swipes away some dust and dead moths, trying to make it more presentable inside. It doesn’t look too bad - everything is relatively clean, from the small couch to childish drawings scattered along the walls.

“I took a class, you know.” Hope says, once she is sitting beside Josie. At Josie’s confused look, Hope continues. “On manners and proper etiquette. I took a class.”

Well, that’s ironic.

Josie must be smiling enough to be noticeable, because Hope’s eyebrows draw together in suspicion.

“What?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re not the nicest person.” Josie admits.

She holds her breath, expecting Hope to be at least a little angry with her, but Hope simply knocks their shoulders together. The action is clearly playful and Josie relaxes instantly.

“I _know_ , but polite is different from nice.” Hope explains, scooting closer as she does so.

Josie tries to think of a response, but she really doesn’t need to. Her brain malfunctions as soon as she notices how close Hope has gotten. Her vision curls with black, her eyelids almost falling closed on instinct, when she stops herself.

“Wait.” Josie leans back, though Hope’s subtle frown begs her for just a peck. “We can’t be that couple that just makes out all the time.”

“We’re not.” Hope assures her. “We can talk, it’s just… you were the one that was moaning and _begging_ earlier.”

Josie turns pink. “I wasn’t begging.”

“Yes, you were.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

Hope sits straighter, rocking up onto her knees. She clears her throat, as if she’s about to do an impression and prove her point.

Hope’s voice takes on a low, breathy tone that forces heat into Josie’s skin. _“Oh, Hope, don’t stop-“_

“I didn’t say it like that.” Josie interrupts, thoroughly embarrassed and (if she’s honest) aroused at the imitation.

“You did.”

Josie sputters for a moment, unable to come up with a solid argument against that. Hope is looking at her as if she expects Josie to hand over some sort of medal.

“I didn’t.” Josie eventually says, aware that it’s a lame comeback.

It spurs Hope on anyways.

“You did.”

“Didn’t.”

“Did.”

“Didn’t.”

This goes on for quite some time until Josie finally grows exasperated and leans into Hope’s personal space, effectively cutting the other girl off.

“If I was _really_ begging for you it would sound like-“ A hand clasps over Josie’s mouth before she can get another word out.

“Fine.” Hope says. “Let’s talk.”

Josie smirks triumphantly against Hope’s skin, enjoying how flustered Hope looks. A deep blush has attacked Hope’s face and practically turned her into a tomato. It’s strange and sort of wonderful to know Josie can make _the_ Hope Mikaelson crumble that easily.

Hope removes her hand cautiously, as if she expects Josie to burst into a series of loud, pornographic moans.

When Josie stays silent, Hope returns her hand to her lap. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

“You.” Josie pulls her knees to her chest, facing Hope. “Tell me about yourself.”

It takes a while for Hope to form a response. Josie lets her take her time, because she knows how hard it is to come up with personal details when directly asked. Years and years of awkward icebreaker questions with teachers has proved that.

Still, the answer Hope comes up with is entirely unexpected.

“I like pasta.”

Josie laughs, shaking her head. “No, sweetie. Something important.”

“I like… cheerleading.” Hope settles on, at last. “When I first went to Cheerios Camp, the seniors put my mattress out on the lake in the middle of the night. I was stuck out there for hours.”

Confusion clouds Josie’s head at this bit of information. She doesn’t think that she could ever imagine Hope being hazed or even pranked. From the moment they met, Hope has been the type of person to not deal with anyone’s shit, no matter who they are.

Josie reaches out to comfort Hope. “Oh, I’m sorry. That’s-“

“Great.” Hope finishes for her, unexpectedly. “It was a great prank, if a little juvenile. _Quinn_ was… great.”

“Quinn?”

“Quinn Fabray, she was the captain at the time and prom queen.” Hope explains, as if Josie just asked who Beyoncé was.

Josie puts her hands up in surrender, almost feeling as if she should apologize for not knowing who this random girl is. Thankfully, Hope stops staring at her like she’s clueless and Josie gets the chance to rack her mind for a memory of Quinn.

It’s a small town. Josie probably saw her at some point, she just wasn’t paying attention, the way Hope clearly was.

“I went to prom with her.” Hope continues, appearing sort of giddy. Josie’s eyebrows raise, watching the fond smile cross Hope’s face. “Not _with_ her, with her. She wanted a freshman there to hold her purse all night.”

Josie inspects Hope carefully, noticing the slight flush to her cheeks and the way she’s explaining this as if it was a great night in her life and not hours of Hope being forced to hold some bitch’s purse. If Josie weren’t slightly jealous, she would say that it’s adorable.

“So, you had a crush on Quinn?” Josie questions.

Hope looks at her as if she’s crazy. Josie feels her hands itch to raise in surrender again, but Hope’s gaze relents.

“Of course not.” Hope replies firmly. “She was just really pretty and I always wanted to be her friend, and- _oh_.”

Josie resists the urge to laugh as realization crosses Hope’s face.

No, Josie won’t laugh. It’s good for Hope to realize her other crushes, even if the shocked expression on her face is incredibly amusing. Josie won’t allow herself to be jealous either, because she guesses that Quinn is an adult now and couldn’t come back to legally date Hope.

It takes a while for Hope to be able to do anything more than stare off into the distance, processing this new chunk of information.

Josie does nothing but pat her back gently while she sits and watches. This whole experience kind of reminds her of the time she realized exactly why her favorite Disney Princess is Mulan.

Eventually, Josie clears her throat. “Is that why you want to be prom queen? Because of Quinn?”

Maybe it bothers her a tiny bit that Hope would form a three-year long plan on how to win prom queen all because of some crush she had as a freshman.

Just a tiny bit.

“No.” Hope shakes her head. Josie quietly exhales, relief flooding her lungs as the air leaves them. She focuses back on Hope, who is glancing at her strangely, almost like she’s contemplating something. “Actually, my aunt, Freya, was prom queen.”

“Your not-dead aunt, Freya?” Josie questions, trying to stay calm.

Not that she would tell Hope, but she’s kind of been curious about Freya for weeks now. Ever since Klaus mentioned her at dinner, Josie has always had Hope’s aunt sitting at the back of her mind.

“Yeah. She didn’t campaign or anything, everyone just liked her.” Hope explains, not calling attention to the detail Josie obviously wants to know about Freya.

Why did Klaus say she was dead?

She’s clearly not. Or maybe she is, Josie wouldn’t know, though she thinks that if a Mikaelson died then someone would’ve gotten her to send over some flowers or something.

Hope twists her mouth to the side and avoids Josie’s eyes, as if she’s having great difficulty forcing words out. Josie notices how pained Hope looks and immediately snakes her arm around her waist, trying to comfort her.

“You don’t have to tell me.” Josie says, though she really, really wants to know.

“No, I want to tell someone.” Hope leans into Josie’s embrace. “Freya is my favorite aunt, and she’s not dead, we just don’t talk anymore. She’s… gay.”

Oh.

Josie’s mind collapses for a moment as she wonders how many lesbians there are in the Mikaelson family, but as it rebuilds she puts the pieces together pretty quickly. If there _are_ a lot of gay people in the Mikaelson family, they probably aren’t out, because Klaus would…

“My family wasn’t really good to her. _I_ wasn’t good to her.” Hope clarifies. If Hope’s eyes are a bit watery, Josie pretends not to notice. “I kind of freaked out. I didn’t know why she would choose to be like that-“

“It’s not a choice.” Josie interrupts, unable to stop herself.

“Well, I know that now. I didn’t then.”

Something wet touches Josie’s neck and she shivers until she realizes that it’s Hope’s face. Josie feels her stomach grow heavy, hardening into stone with concern and sadness. She tries to shift to get a better angle, but Hope only clings to her tighter, so Josie settles down.

“I couldn’t bring myself to call.” Hope admits, her voice rough, like it’s a struggle to scrape the sentence from her tongue. “I kept thinking about how selfish she was for it. I don’t even know where she lives now. No one will give me her address or phone number.”

Quiet sniffles echo between Hope’s sentences, until she finally pulls away from Josie completely. Hope stares off into the distance, her gaze on Josie’s house but her eyes unfocused and cloudy with unshed tears.

Hope scoffs to herself. “I’m such a hypocrite. I’m here with you and I pushed Freya away because of… of-“

“No, no, hey.” Josie rushes to quiet Hope, smoothing her hand down Hope’s back. “Don’t hate yourself for it. You were a kid. You’re a kid, now.”

“But-“

“You’re better, now. That’s what matters.” Josie assures her.

Doubt still shines in Hope’s eyes. Josie doesn’t hesitate to hold Hope’s head in her hands and swipe the tears away with her thumbs, watching Hope relax at the contact. She repeats the same comforting words from earlier until Hope begins to nod along with them.

Eventually, Hope laughs wetly. “Did I earn my kiss?”

“Yes.” Josie’s expression softens as she tips forward. “Of course.”

Their lips meet like two ships greeting in the night, crashing into each other, breaking down their roots, intertwining their bones.


	31. Chapter 31

A bead of sweat rolls along Josie’s jaw, trickling down her throat and joining the collection of drops at her collarbone. Her skin is hot despite the dampness of it, the temperature of the room not doing much to cool Josie’s body.

“That’s all for today, guys.” Alaric says finally. A chorus of answering groans comes from the exhausted teenagers. “Don’t forget, Regionals are on Sunday.”

Everyone slowly begins to stretch or pack up their things silently, not really in the mood for conversation. They’ve spent the last week working on their choreography for the competition and all of the dancing has clearly taken a lot out of everyone.

Josie is one of the few who lingers behind to stretch out her legs. She takes a small sip from her water bottle before raising her leg behind herself so she can grab her ankle.

“I hated every minute of that.” Lizzie complains, once she has managed to drag herself off the floor. Josie wrinkles her nose in disgust as Lizzie snatches the water bottle from her and pants all over it. “Why are you stretching? We can still catch the last ten minutes of lunch, come on.”

“You drank all of my water.” Josie frowns and takes back her now empty bottle.

(Not that she would want to drink it with how Lizzie practically made out with it a second ago.)

“They have more in the cafeteria.” Lizzie replies pointedly. She doesn’t hesitate to drag Josie across the stage and towards their bags.

Josie goes willingly. She supposes that it would be good for the both of them to grab a snack or something, so Josie shoulders her bag without protest. Josie glances back at the remaining members of the club, which has boiled down to the Cheerios.

They’re all stretching quite gracefully, except for Hope, who nearly trips over Penelope when Josie catches her staring.

“I’m gonna stay behind.” Josie takes an abrupt stop and drops her bag. “Stretching is really important for the, uh, body.”

“You’re a horrible liar, why are you…” Lizzie trails off suddenly, her eyes falling on something behind Josie.

Before Josie can even process what’s happening, Lizzie marches over to the exit and holds the door open. Penelope and Maya stand up as if on command, gathering their bags and dragging Dana to the door by her arms.

Dana huffs, annoyed. “But I wasn’t done-“

“Shut up, Dana.”

The door swings closed and leaves Josie and Hope in comfortable silence for a moment, until Josie turns and catches Hope’s wandering eyes once again.

“Stop it.” Josie pretends to be annoyed, but honestly she’d be a hypocrite if she were to actually complain.

Hope always looks good, but Josie especially likes her this way - cheeks flushed red from exertion, skin glistening under the stage lights, breath leaving her mouth in pants.

“I’m just admiring my girlfriend.” Hope replies, completely shameless with her gawking.

Heat rushes to her face at Hope’s comment and Josie dips her head, trying to hide her blush. She isn’t even wearing anything that nice. It’s just leggings and a burgundy tank top, something she mindlessly put on this morning when her dad mentioned that they’d be working out later.

Josie approaches Hope a bit shyly, now that she knows she’s being checked out, and helps Hope off the floor.

“Girlfriend?” Josie questions. “We haven’t even been on a date yet.”

“You’re right, we should fix that.” Hope doesn’t hesitate to lean up and connect their lips for a chaste kiss.

Desire sparks in the pit of her stomach, the way it always does, but Josie knows it’s for the best that they don’t start making out in the auditorium. No one knows they’re not-dating, so getting carried away in a wide, open room could lead to problems.

That doesn’t stop Josie from wondering if there’s a supply closet around here somewhere that they can sneak into. She can’t help it - she’s seventeen, horny is her constant setting.

“I have to go.” Hope says, punctuating each word with a little peck on the lips. “The girls are probably waiting for me.”

“Okay.”

Hope raises her eyebrows at Josie’s slightly sad expression. “Don’t pout.”

Josie didn’t realize that she was pouting at all, but she figures it’s a good action to do because Hope rocks up again and presses their mouths together more firmly. It’s over much, much faster than Josie would have liked, but she tries not to frown again as Hope heads towards the door.

“We should get dinner together later.” Hope calls over her shoulder. She lingers by the exit, waiting for Josie’s response.

“Like a date?”

“Like a date.” Hope confirms.

Josie beams at her. “Okay.”

She waits until she sees Hope leave to release a little squeal of excitement. Josie can’t help it. Her brain feels as if it’s imploding. Miniature bombs go off in her heart every time Hope kisses her. She can’t believe she’s actually dating Hope, the thought is surreal and yet it feels as if it’s been a long time coming.

Josie touches her lips, much like she had done that time Lizzie ambushed her in their house, and allows her eyes to flutter shut as the sensation fades away.

Her life has really never been better.

  
  


Jackie’s life has really never been worse, mostly because everyone knows and refers to her as Lunch Lady Jackie.

The only one who treats her with any respect is Josie Saltzman, which is why Jackie is sort of saddened by the student skipping out on lunches lately. Of course, Jackie would never voice this aloud, because having an emotional attachment to a teenager (no matter how slight it is) is a detail of her life that rests on the peak of Pathetic Mountain.

Still, Jackie can’t help but be relieved when Josie smiles politely at her instead of simply barking out a request for food like the rest of the children.

“Hi, Ms. Lawrence.” Josie greets. She seems exceptionally happy this afternoon. “Do you guys have any lasagna leftover?”

“I’ll check.”

Jackie isn’t sure if they have any of the good bits left, since the Glee kids all strolled in during the last ten minutes of lunch, but she walks further up the line to check all of their containers. _Empty, empty, empty…_ Jackie pauses by one that has about two squares in it and grabs a spatula.

The new guy, Ryan Clarke, is standing right beside it and helping three teens with their lunches. Jackie inspects them for a second, trying to remember their names.

One is tall with dramatic, sharp features and looks like he’s too old to be a student. The other boy is curly-haired and speaking rather loudly, while the one in the middle - a petite girl in a Cheerios uniform - rubs her forehead in annoyance.

“You need to move on.” The tallest one says.

“For your information,” The other (his name has to be something with an L - Leonardo, maybe) begins. “I already have moved on. I’m taking Josie to prom.”

“What?” The cheerleader’s head snaps up. Her cheeks are dusted pink, her eyes wide and blown with panic for a fraction of a second before they settle to steely blue. “You can’t do that.”

“I can do what I want.”

Jackie takes that as her cue to leave. She is much too old for this type of dumb, teenage drama, and the Cheerio unsettles Jackie for some reason. The teenager kind of reminds Jackie of someone she went to school with.

Nick?

Niklaus?

Something odd like that.

“Wait.” Clarke suddenly grabs her arm and Jackie stills to a stop. Jackie doesn’t like the look of Clarke either, he’s always seemed a bit weird.

Granted, Jackie has only known him for a few weeks now, and not all men who seem creepy end up-

“This is the most interesting thing I’ve seen all week.” Clarke points between the trio.

Never mind. Total weirdo.

“We shouldn’t pry.” Jackie glances between the boys. It looks as if they might fight, if it wasn’t for the glares the Cheerio is sending them both.

Still, they’re not allowed to actually interfere until someone does something violent. They’re arguing, but no one is close enough to throw a punch yet. Jackie has worked here long enough to know that the best decision would be to keep her head down, get Josie some lasagna, and avoid everyone in a cheerleading or football uniform.

Yes, that is what she’ll do. She isn’t paid to interfere in anyone’s life.

Head down, eyes averted, spatula in hand and lasagna being lifted onto plate. Jackie sets the spatula down and very quietly tries to sneak back into her original place.

Then, the curly haired one picks up a handful of casserole and flings it at the other boy’s face.

“Oh my god.” The Cheerio sighs in exasperation. “I can’t believe I dated you.”

Several things happen at once.

Jackie tries to return to her previous spot and is yanked behind the counter by Clarke.

Curly Haired Boy begins flinging any food he can get his hands on at the taller boy, but is tackled in an instant.

The blonde Saltzman twin gets hit with part of a casserole and starts throwing food around wildly, while a dark-skinned boy in a sweater clutches at her hands to try and stop her.

Two Cheerios, linked at the pinkies, practically disappear into the shadows at the first sign of food being thrown.

To sum it up: the cafeteria turns into utter chaos. As soon as the Glee Club starts having a food fight, the others decide to join in - much like wild animals. Food goes whizzing past Jackie’s head, landing on the wall. Someone is yelling _Landon, stop it,_ at the absolute top of their lungs, and Jackie peers over the counter in fear of the poor boy being murdered.

Unsurprisingly, it’s that cheerleader again. She must be a Mikaelson. Her voice is so deadly that Jackie is having flashbacks of Niklaus screaming at someone in the middle of math class.

What’s odd is Josie standing nearby, speaking too quietly to be heard. It looks as if she’s trying to calm the Mikaelson girl down.

“Teenagers are so weird.” Clarke hums to himself, shaking his head. He seems strangely pleased with the state of things. “They’re like lasagna... or onions.”

Was he dropped on his head as a baby?

Jackie whips her head towards him. “What?”

“Layers.” He clarifies, pointing.

Jackie’s eyes follow his straightened finger. Those two girls - Mikaelson and Josie - are now ducking under a lunch table together, sharing secret giggles, finding peace in all of the chaos.

Huh.

Layers.

—————

Josie isn’t entirely sure how her day went from struggling through another Glee Club meeting to sitting in detention, carefully picking pepperoni out of her bra.

The library is empty, cleared out so everyone can go through their punishment in silence. A few stragglers are amongst them, but mostly it’s the New Directions and whoever else is covered in today’s lunch. They’re all in similar states.

Bored, pushing casserole bits out of their hair, annoyed with the usual chaos.

The worst part of it all is having everyone shut up in the room together. Josie would be fine with an extra hour after school to drum her fingers and work on some homework, if she wasn’t so distracted by all of the angry glaring going on.

Landon keeps on huffing subtly (not subtly at all), while Hope occasionally twists in her seat to look at him as if he’s a toddler on the verge of a breakdown, and Sebastian has this far-away, dramatic expression that makes it seem as if they’ve just entered a bad teen movie.

Josie hates it.

“Okay, _what?”_ Hope asks Landon finally.

“Nothing.” Landon petulantly crosses his arms. “I just can’t believe you’d go out with him.”

Hope sighs lowly, rubbing her temples like she is trying to stop herself from hitting him. She mumbles something about missing Cheerios practice, her shoulders tense with anger and restraint.

It’s such a startling contrast from how Hope has been with Josie lately - soft and loving, almost adoring, sometimes. Josie tries to keep the smug smile on her face a secret. There’s a small, childish voice in her face that victoriously croons _she likes me more than you_.

Before Josie’s grin can be noticed, someone else comes into the library. It’s a nameless Cheerio, who merely pokes her head in and scowls at the other girls on the squad.

“Coach wants you.”

“We’re in detention.” Penelope gestures to their situation obviously and Hope and Maya nod in agreement. “We can’t just leave.”

The Cheerio rolls her eyes. “Fine, but Coach said if you’re not there in ten minutes you can’t come to the Bahamas for spring break.”

Spring break?

The Bahamas?

Everyone seems equally confused, except for the three girls that rush to collect their stuff and shoulder their bags at the mention of the trip. It would be almost comical how fast they move, if it didn’t seem as if they’re all actually serious about randomly escaping to spend two weeks on a beach.

Since when does the school have the money for field trips like that?

Josie has no time to ask, because Penelope and Maya are out the door in seconds. Hope is the only one who lingers behind, coming to stop in front of her ‘boyfriend’.

Hope ruffles Sebastian’s hair, but stares directly at Josie. “Bye, babe.”

Josie swallows noisily, her mouth running dry. She grips the desk a bit too tight, heat erupting from her skin like a miniature volcano. Hope leaves with an innocent smile on her face, like she hasn’t just left Josie to sit around for the next half hour with the urge to kiss her.

As predicted, the next half hour is near torture without Hope. Josie is too out of it to properly focus on her homework, so she dedicates her time to doodling pom-poms in the blank margins of her notebook, absentmindedly wondering if Hope is on the field barking orders right now.

Damn it.

Since when did she turn into such a hormonal teenager? Josie is half-expecting some cheesy trope to suddenly pop up in her life, like a cheating scandal. Maybe she’ll have a romantic encounter where she accidentally bumps into someone and-

“Oh. Um.” Josie murmurs awkwardly, watching her books tumble down between her and Landon. They’d both stood up too fast at the sound of the bell. “Sorry.”

Josie sinks to her knees to collect her things, feeling a little disappointed. Romantic fantasy ruined. This is a lot more uncomfortable than she thought it would be, especially after she heard Landon loudly declare in the cafeteria that he’s taking her to prom.

He hasn’t even asked yet.

Now her mission is to get away from him before he can get the chance to do it. Josie hates rejecting people. It’s too hard and she always ends up feeling horrible in the end.

“No, it was my fault.” Landon gently sets some of her books back in her hands. “Anyways, I was wondering if-“

“Oh, look. My mom is texting me.” Josie interrupts, blurting out the first thing that comes to mind when she sees a message flash across her phone.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

It is decidedly _not_ her mom, unless someone found a way to start resurrecting people, in which case Josie has bigger problems than worrying about some boy asking her out.

She snatches up the device regardless, hoping that Landon doesn’t remember when her mother had died. Josie stands as she reads the text, seeing that it’s Hope asking if she wants to come watch the rest of Cheerios practice. While Josie sends back a _yes_ , she tries to appear as innocent as possible and not attract the imploring stares of both her sister and Landon.

“Isn’t your mom… uh?” Landon trails off uncomfortably, his fingers ticking shortly like he was going to make a hand gesture and thought better of it.

“Going to be late to pick me up?” Josie finishes for him, though clearly that wasn’t what he was planning on saying. “Yeah. I’m going to go wait on the field.”

Josie is glad that her excuse deters Landon. She leaves while he stands there, his face pinched in confusion and his mind probably reeling as he tries to remember the whereabouts of Josie’s mother.

It doesn’t matter if he figures it out or not, at least for now. Josie’s escape is quick and relatively easy, and soon she is sitting in the bleachers with her notebook tucked in front of her. Josie finds herself wishing she could draw as well as Hope or that she could take pictures of the squad without seeming creepy.

That would look great. Josie can see the headlines now.

_School’s Resident Homo Has A Death Wish, Photographs Cheerleading Squad._

Josie sighs, deciding she won’t take any photos, no matter how much she wants to. Now that she really pays attention, watching Hope cheer is sort of amazing. She’s so little that the squad can effortlessly fling her into the air and catch her with ease.

_Flying, falling, catching._

Air whips by Josie’s face, cooling her skin in an instant. She welcomes the change in temperature, enjoying how it soothes the slight stiffness of her bones. The library had been so stuffy, both due to the heat and all of the building drama.

_Flying, falling, catching._

Josie lays against the bleachers, thankful to be calm for a few minutes out of the day. Her head tilts back, eyes going to the sky. She can’t decide if that cloud looks more like a bunny or a dragon.

“Josie!” Landon’s voice calls out to her suddenly.

Fuck. Seriously?

Josie sits up, silently thinking that the one thing that connects Hope and Landon is that they’ve never truly been told _no_ before. It’s more annoying on him than it is on Hope. Josie tries not to scowl, tries to put on her polite expression as she glances out towards the field in search of the boy.

_Flying, falling…_

Josie’s eyes focus on Hope and only Hope.

_Falling…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops, Hope is dead


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really hoping Naya is okay. She means a lot to me and I feel very badly for her family.
> 
> Also, I’ve never broken an arm before so all of this is just guessing tbh

Josie hates hospitals.

They always smell vaguely of chemicals and are usually two shades colder than what’s comfortable, not enough to make her shiver but enough that she never feels totally at ease inside of one. Besides that, being in a hospital generally means that something is wrong.

_Wrong_ perfectly sums up Josie Saltzman right now. Her bones aren’t set properly. Her blood itches her veins. Her throat is so rough from crying that simply breathing feels close to torture.

She hasn’t seen Hope in hours.

The last time Josie caught a glimpse of Hope, she was surrounded by panicked Cheerios and a startled coach. She managed to get onto the field, but she barely got past the crowd - though now she wishes she hadn’t, because the horrific image of Hope lying unconscious on the grass is permanently glued in her head.

Josie sees it flash behind her eyelids every time she so much as blinks. Hope’s arm bent out of shape, part of it jutting out eerily, crimson coating her once pristine uniform, and blood forming a pool under her body.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lizzie questions again, casting a worried look Josie’s way. “Your hands are shaking.”

Josie’s eyes fall to her hands, finding that Lizzie is right. Her fingers tremble noticeably despite her trying to keep her composure, her skin slightly pink and dampened by sweat.

“I’m fine.” Josie swallows noisily, saliva morphing to acid in her throat.

Lizzie doesn’t seem convinced, but she drops the interrogation and squeezes Josie’s shoulder comfortingly before returning to her homework. She works diligently on the math sheet placed atop her lap, a vague reminder to Josie that she should also take the time to do some work.

It would probably be no use. Josie can’t focus on much else but Hope - and if not Hope, then the bubble of anxiety that threatens to pop in her chest.

Lying has always been a foreign concept to Josie. She isn’t very good at it. She has no fake explanation for why she openly sobbed in front of all of the Cheerios a few hours ago, why she nearly punched Dana for suggesting that Hope was dead, or why she’s sitting in this hospital room right now.

What is she going to say?

_Oh, I just wanted to check up on my greatest bully, don’t mind the tears?_

There is no way anyone would believe that. Josie knows that the only reason Lizzie hasn’t questioned her properly is because she looks like a fragile deer (MG’s words - not hers) when she cries. She also keeps getting strange glances from Maya and Penelope, who are also sitting in the waiting room.

It’s… awkward with them.

If everyone knew about Hope and Josie, then Hope would have probably invited her to come meet her friends by now.

Instead, there’s a large disconnect between the two groups, where neither of them exchange words or greet each other but they all cry over the same person.

Well, not Lizzie. She isn’t crying. She’s actually texting, very loudly.

“Can you stop with the typing? I thought you had homework to do.” Josie nudges her sister. Her building headache distracts her from the unfamiliar contact name on Lizzie’s screen.

Who the hell is Satan 2.0?

Whatever. Josie can’t worry about it now. She wishes that the doctors would at least let her peer into Hope’s room, but they won’t give up any information to anyone who isn’t family. Maybe she can pose as Hope’s sister?

Cousin?

Wife? No, they’re too young for that.

“Sorry.” Lizzie sends a final message and tucks her phone back into her pocket.

Distantly, Josie registers Penelope checking her phone, whispering something in Maya’s ear, and then standing up. Josie frowns, watching her disappear around the corner. If she didn’t know better, she would say that it seemed like Lizzie was texting Penelope, but that’s an insane thought.

Josie rests her head against Lizzie’s shoulder, sighing heavily. She must be going crazy. First she openly shows weakness in front of a pack of vicious cheerleaders and then she speculates that Lizzie and Penelope might be friends.

Maybe she’s losing her mind.

“This crush seems more important than the others.” Lizzie comments softly, brushing a strand of hair off of Josie’s forehead with gentle fingers.

“It is.” Josie confirms. She wishes she could say more, but she’d want to ask Hope about that first.

Josie snuggles up to her sister, accepting the invitation to cuddle easily. She sort of feels like a child, letting Lizzie rock her to sleep in public, but she’s exhausted. Her eyelids slip closed, the black behind them offering up some much needed peace in all of the chaos.

Someone clears their throat in front of her.

Slowly, Josie cracks her eyes open, surprised to see Penelope standing there with a cup of coffee.

The offer of caffeine peeks Josie’s interest, but she holds back to inspect it. “Is it like… poisoned or something?”

“No.” Penelope rolls her eyes. “I got it from the hospital. I know you like coffee. Now come on, I’m trying to be nice.”

Josie cautiously looks over the dark liquid once more before taking it and mumbling a thanks. She tries a sip. It’s horrible, but only because hospitals aren’t known for their world class coffee. No poison.

“Wait, how do you know I like coffee?” Josie’s nose scrunches up suspiciously, though she can’t stop herself from pressing the cup to her lips again.

“Hope told me.”

Josie sits up, surprised. “Hope talks about me?”

“Occasionally.” Penelope shrugs and sits down beside Lizzie, who strangely doesn’t flinch at Penelope’s close presence.

Maya comes to join them after a second, sitting beside Josie.

“It was pretty cool when you threatened Dana.” Maya points out, causing the rest of the girls to hum and nod in agreement.

It suddenly occurs to Josie that her and Lizzie are boxed in between two cheerleaders. That thought fades away rather quickly when she realizes that it doesn’t really matter who is wearing a uniform or not, because they are all in the same position. Scared, caught in the suspense that comes with waiting to know that a friend is okay.

Damn, even while unconscious Hope is in control.

Josie’s lips itch to smile, but the urge drops as soon as Klaus comes out into the waiting room. He peers around for a bit, seeming vaguely distressed, until his eyes land on the small group of girls.

“Hope is fine, now.” Klaus says in that same, sort of curt way that Hope usually greets people. “She’s asking for you, Josie.”

“Me?” Josie echoes, her voice wavering a bit.

She sort of expected Hope to ask for Penelope or Maya first, since they’ve been her friends for years, but the only one that seems surprised with Hope requesting her is Josie. Even Klaus raises his shoulders in a little shrug, giving her an expectant look.

“Okay.” Josie replies after a moment, standing so she can follow Klaus to the back.

If these were different circumstances, Josie would pester the man with questions about Hope’s condition, but Klaus doesn’t seem like someone who wants to be bothered. Besides, her voice would probably tremble with fear, relief, or simply too many emotions.

Josie stays silent as he guides her, though she can’t stop herself from glancing worriedly into every room they pass.

“Calm down.” Klaus advises her, his hand going out to rest on a nearby doorknob. “You look frightened.”

“I’m okay.” She responds, her voice cracking horribly on the second syllable.

Klaus’ eyebrows lift, perhaps a bit curious as to why Josie is freaking out and also a little amused, but he says nothing as he finally opens the door. He steps aside and nods towards the doorway, silently inviting Josie in while staying outside himself.

The sight that greets her is not at all what Josie expected. Hope is there, of course, but she’s laughing quietly while her mom tries to tie her shoes for her. She looks happy in the rare, unrestrained way that instantly warms Josie’s heart. The only thing that gives any indication of Hope’s injury is the bright pink cast on her left arm.

It’s surprisingly adorable.

“Hope, honey.” Hayley frowns, exasperation leaking into her voice as she narrowly dodges Hope’s foot once again. “Stop kicking me.”

“But I want Josie to do it.” Hope murmurs. She lifts her head when she hears Josie shut the door and immediately points towards her.

All attention goes to Josie, who shyly wraps her arms around herself at the scrutiny. It’s tense for a fracture of a second before whatever frustration Hayley is feeling falls away and she stands, hurriedly pulling Josie into a hug.

“Oh.” Josie blurts at the awkward embrace, thankfully speaking too quietly to be heard.

This entire day feels like one strange dream. Josie could make a list of all of the bizarre things that happened since this morning, starting with that immature food fight they had earlier. She wonders how Ms. Lawrence, the lunch lady, is doing.

Eventually, Josie returns the hug. She likes affection, expected or not. Plus, Hayley kind of smells similar to Hope.

“They gave her some pain meds.” Hayley whispers, as if she’s sharing top secret intel. “She keeps whining about you. Help.”

Before Josie gets the chance to ask any questions, Hayley is gone. Josie sputters at the closed door and slowly turns around to face Hope, feeling a bit nervous about how quick Klaus and Hayley were to ditch drugged Hope for a bit.

She can’t be _that_ bad, though Hope was trying to kick her mother a minute ago.

“Hi, Hope.” Josie greets, coming closer to inspect Hope more carefully. She seems fine aside from the cast and her uniform, which is still splattered with blood.

“JoJo.” Hope yanks her forward with more strength than Josie knew Hope had. “Sign my cast.”

“I, uh, don’t have a pen.”

Hope continues to stare at Josie expectantly and Josie panics a bit, though she’s rather amused by Hope’s antics. She looks around but can’t find a pen, since she left her backpack out in the waiting room and Hope seems to not have hers.

As Josie’s hand skims along the wall, her gaze focuses on it. Fingers seem… pen-like? Maybe to a drugged person.

Josie carefully traces her name into Hope’s cast with her pinkie, keeping it held straight so it appears more like a pen. She glances up at Hope all the while, pleased when Hope seems to be falling for it. Since it’s not actual ink, Josie goes ahead and draws an invisible heart around her name.

“Thank you.” Hope sing-songs, her smile making her cheeks puff up in such a cute way that Josie strokes over the skin with her thumb.

It doesn’t take long for Hope to lean into the touch, her eyes fluttering shut as she gives a small hum of appreciation. Josie’s heart readily swells with affection, all the love and care in the world gathering in this one room for just the two of them.

Josie would kiss her if she wasn’t high.

“I broke my arm.” Hope murmurs, her eyes cracking open suddenly. “It hurt. I can’t even tie my shoes.”

“Oh. It’s okay, sweetie. I’ll do it.” Josie notices that Hayley managed to get one of the shoes tied already, so it doesn’t take her too long to finish the task.

It also helps that Hope doesn’t try to kick her and sits still while Josie’s fingers work around the white laces. Hope seems calm, like for once she isn’t letting the rest of the world affect her.

It makes Josie wonder if this is what Hope is really like, if things could be different if they met before everyone convinced Hope life is a brutal battle. She wishes things could change for Hope, but at the same time if even a small detail shifted out of place they could end up without each other.

Is it selfish to want Hope so much that Josie is almost glad for their history?

“You’re thinking too much.” Hope mumbles, interrupting Josie’s thoughts with both her comment and her finger lightly tapping Josie’s nose.

“Sorry. I’ve been in my head a lot.” Josie admits. A small smile comes across her lips as she pulls Hope’s finger away from her face, clasping their hands together. “I was worried about you. I thought you might’ve hit your head or something worse.”

A thick wad of emotion gets stuck in her throat. Josie tries to swallow it down, knowing that Hope is in no position to comfort her and that she’s being a little silly. Hope is fine. Broken arms heal.

Still, Josie’s brain spins itself sick with a thousand different possibilities. Hope could have smashed her skull open, landed on her neck, or something equally horrible that makes Josie want to throw up. She hasn’t been that worried about anyone in years.

“I’m great.” Hope assures her.

Hope’s blinding smile eases Josie enough that she nearly lets Hope kiss her, but she manages to side-step her, despite the neediness of her heart. Hope whines quietly at being rejected, so Josie kisses the edge of her forehead to placate her.

“You don’t want to kiss me?”

Josie kisses her head again, feeling bad about the sad tilt to Hope’s voice. “Not while you’re drugged, but later.”

“How much later?” Hope asks, her words tickling Josie’s ear.

“Tomorrow.” She promises. Josie suspects Hope will be fine tomorrow and that the Mikaelsons will let her come over to visit.

They actually like her, which is kind of strange when Josie really thinks about it. Hope’s parents seemed to like her before Hope did.

“You’re going to come see me tomorrow?” Hope tightens her hold on Josie and she sighs appreciatively.

“Of course.”

They stay in that position for a while, with Hope’s free arm encircling Josie’s shoulders while Josie keeps her grip tight around Hope’s waist. It feels more intimate than kissing somehow. With the way their chests are pressed together, Josie can feel the gentle thud of Hope’s heartbeat. It flutters occasionally, picking up speed as Josie digs her fingers in a little tighter.

When Josie finally steps away, her face is pink and warm from being able to feel how she affects Hope.

Thankfully, they separate just in time to not be holding each other when Klaus and Hayley return. An air of emotion still settles heavily between them, showing in the faint blushes on their cheeks. Hope has the good sense to force her eyes to the ground and compose herself, because it seems as if she’s unable to wipe the grin off her face.

“Hey.” Josie says, breathless, trying not to make it obvious that they just walked in on a romantic moment.

“Hey, thanks for dealing with her for a minute.” Hayley responds, her words pointed towards Josie before she zeros in on her daughter. “Hope, we’re going home now. Where’s your bag?”

Hope looks around the room in search of it. She quickly frowns, a furrow growing between her brows.

“I think I left it at school.”

Klaus bats away Hope’s guilty expression. “I’ll go back and get it.”

He leaves Josie and Hayley to help Hope out of the room. They each put an arm around Hope’s waist and practically carry her down the hall. Hope’s head lulls dangerously towards Josie the whole time, her lips threatening to make contact, but Josie keeps her a safe distance away.

This day has already been tiring enough without Hope spontaneously kissing her in front of multiple people.

Once they reach the waiting room, Hayley steps away to sign Hope out, which means Josie is standing around with Hope slumped against her. She is pretty sure that Hope can walk on her own, but Hope keeps on clinging to Josie anyways. Josie is fine with that. It’s not like she’s going to let her girlfriend fall.

“Josie!” A sunny voice calls.

Josie turns her head and blinks rapidly, thinking that she sees Caroline Forbes approaching her. There definitely _is_ a pale blonde walking her way, but Josie is too tired to know if she’s seeing things or not. She only registers that Caroline is actually there and not a hologram or hallucination when she is pulled into a tight side-hug.

“Caroline.” Josie smiles, surprised but happy to see her. “I didn’t know you were coming to town.”

“Ric told me you guys had a singing competition coming up this weekend. I wanted to surprise you but then I heard you had a _friend_ in the hospital.” Caroline informs her, putting a strange emphasis on ‘friend’.

Josie wonders why Caroline is watching them so suspiciously but then she realizes that her supposed friend is burying her nose in Josie’s neck.

“Hope took pain meds.” She explains, flushing in embarrassment. “I’d introduce you two, but-“

“Who’s Caroline?” Hope interjects, apparently insistent on having this conversation right now instead of later.

“My babysitter.”

The movement of Hope smirking causes her lips to tickle Josie’s neck. Josie rolls her eyes and gently redirects Hope’s head elsewhere, placing it somewhere that won’t turn Josie bright red in front of one of her respected family friends.

“You have a babysitter?” Hope teases.

“My _old_ babysitter.” She clarifies.

Caroline frowns and folds her arms in front of her chest. “Hey, I’m not even thirty.”

Josie mutters an apology, finding it hard to juggle conversation between the two girls. She hopes that Hayley will come back soon so Caroline can talk to her about something else while Josie deals with Hope, but it seems like Hayley is busy signing paperwork.

In fact, things only get worse, because the rest of the girls notice Hope is out and rush over to see her.

Great.

“Hope, how are the drugs?” Penelope asks, an amused grin coming across her face as she notices Hope’s odd behavior.

“Fucking amazing.”

“Okay.” Josie cuts in, wishing that Hope wouldn’t respond that way in front of Caroline. She can’t be angry about it, though. She knows Hope most likely has no idea what she’s saying.

Josie probably should have asked how strong the medication is.

“I’m going to give you guys some time to catch up, okay?” Caroline questions. Josie nods, seeing that she seems more close to laughing than anything. “You can introduce me to Hope properly at dinner.”

“Dinner?”

Since when are they having dinner? Josie glances worriedly at Lizzie, who seems more preoccupied whispering to Penelope about something. Is Lizzie behind this? She tends to start scheming whenever she’s bored.

“Oh, Klaus invited your dad and us to dinner on his way out. He wants to thank you for taking care of his daughter.” Caroline explains and proceeds to try and leave again, but Josie grabs her by the arm.

_“What?”_

“Dinner with the Mikaelsons.” Caroline says slowly, so Josie can comprehend her sentence. She continues to speak, but all words go mute in Josie’s head as she properly registers them.

Shit.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got way longer than expected

“Okay, I want a full explanation.” Josie says, as soon as they’re standing in the parking lot.

Everyone has already parted ways. Penelope and Maya disappeared after seeing that Hope is okay, Hope’s parents took her home, and Josie and Lizzie are catching a ride with Caroline since their dad dropped them off at the hospital and didn’t come back.

“He just invited me to dinner.” Caroline shrugs, more focused on digging through her purse for her keys. She moves with the ease of someone that doesn’t know she’s just put them all in a dangerous situation. “I think Klaus thought I was your step-mom or something. I was cleaning coffee off of Lizzie when he came out.”

Josie spares a glance towards Lizzie, who shrugs sheepishly. It causes Josie to pause, her eyes needing to adjust to how effortlessly Lizzie is able to unknowingly mimic Caroline.

It makes sense that Klaus would ask Caroline to dinner, even though she’s technically not part of the family. For one thing, Caroline has a habit of showing up like a concerned mother for the twins. For another, Klaus might have stopped and noticed her anyways, because Caroline is _pretty_.

The special, open kind of pretty where she can draw men in with simply a flicker of her smile. The type of pretty that makes people extend invitations to dinners within a few minutes of knowing her.

Caroline finally gets to her keys and unlocks the car doors. The girls scramble in without question, instantly graced with that artificial vanilla smell they grew fond of in their childhoods. Lizzie takes shotgun, not missing the opportunity to spin around and stick her tongue out at her sister. Josie flips her off, because they’re not actually five years old again, despite how Josie suddenly feels.

Nostalgia runs heavily through the vehicle. Two curves still dent the roof, leftover from when Josie and Lizzie got too tall to sit in their car seats without scraping their heads against the ceiling.

It smells like vanilla and Caroline and playground fun, and Josie has to keep herself from feeling a little sad that they outgrew a babysitter. Her body aches dully with the need to be taken care of, but she suppresses it almost immediately. She’s seventeen, nearly eighteen. She needs to start acting like an adult.

More importantly, she needs to deal with her problems.

“One more question.” Josie tilts forward, coming to linger between Caroline and Lizzie’s seats.

Caroline merely rolls her eyes at Josie’s insistent prodding.

“Seatbelt, first.”

“But-“

“Seatbelt.”

Josie hurriedly pulls the seatbelt across her body, locking it in near her hip. “Where are we going for dinner?”

“I don’t know yet.” Caroline starts the car and eases out of her parking space. “He said he’d call.”

That only causes Josie’s brain to spin itself silly with possibilities. Regionals are on Sunday, so they’ll probably go somewhere fancy tomorrow for the occasion. Josie wishes that they could not make a big deal of it and eat a simple meal in the Mikaelsons’ dining room. She’s already tackled that situation before.

It wasn’t too bad.

Well, Hope _did_ storm off, but she has a habit of being rather moody when it comes to her family.

Josie sits back, settled in her thoughts. She chews her lip, planning this all out in her head like she’s preparing for a war. She could probably find an excuse to see Hope on Saturday, before dinner. If Hope isn’t drugged, she’ll most likely have a plan. Hope always has a plan.

Things will be fine.

“You gave him your number?” Lizzie nearly yells after a pause, clearly not in the same calm state as her sister.

The interaction piques Josie’s interest. She looks between them carefully, pleased when Caroline scrunches up her nose in disgust. Good. It would be way too weird if Caroline had a crush on Hope’s dad.

Caroline swats Lizzie’s arm. “Ew, don’t say it like that. He’s like forty and married.”

“Still.” Lizzie replies thoughtfully, looking out the window with a dramatic expression. They may be fraternal, but Lizzie has the same hopeless, romantic glint in her eyes that Josie often carries. “Maybe in another life.”

“You watch too much television.”

The rest of the drive passes comfortably. Lizzie controls the radio while Caroline takes them to their house without needing to hear any directions. Josie spends most of the ride with her hand on her phone, wondering if she should text Hope and knowing that all she’d get in response is a jumbled response from her intoxicated girlfriend.

Once they reach their house, Josie and Lizzie get out while Caroline lingers by her car. Josie eyes her trunk, assuming that she has her bags in there.

“Where are you staying?” Josie asks, receiving a dismissive look in return from Caroline.

She knows Caroline won't be staying in her old house, considering a new couple moved in there shortly after Caroline’s mother died.

“A motel, probably.”

“No.” Josie protests immediately, shaking her head. Even the mere idea of that is silly. “I’ll room with Lizzie, you can take my room. I’m sure Dad won’t mind.”

Caroline seems a bit guilty about stealing her room, so Josie continues, “You can pay me back by helping me make cookies for Hope in the morning.”

“Okay.” Caroline agrees, after a moment of thinking over the deal.

The sun is only just setting when they begin to help Caroline with her minimal bags. It takes Josie by surprise that it’s still early. The hospital had made it feel as if years were passing, though now that Josie’s head is relatively clear she can conclude that they weren’t in there for as long as she thought.

A few hours, maybe.

They get into the house and Josie roams the kitchen, finding that her dad isn’t there but a note and money for takeout is. She reads the short message twice, wishing he’d offer up more information to them.

_Went out to work on Glee Club stuff - Dad_

Why does he have to be so vague?

Josie sighs and sets it aside, picking up the dollars and counting out thirty bucks. It’s only then that she notices both blondes watching her expectantly.

“Do you guys want to pick what’s for dinner or…” Josie trails off, a questioning tilt to her voice. She doesn’t really care what they eat, as long as she can stuff down some food today without it being thrown.

“So.” Caroline says, too carefully to not be suspicious. “Hope.”

A burning sensation works its way up the back of Josie’s neck at simply hearing the girl’s name. Fuck. This is sort of embarrassing. Since when did she become so… lovey?

In love is too much.

Caring is too little.

Her feelings for Hope live in a perfect sweet spot, nestled somewhere in a place Josie doesn’t have the words to properly describe.

“We’re friends.” Josie shrugs, hopefully casually, and counts the money again.

Thirty dollars.

The same amount it had been the first time. She goes ahead and does it all over again.

Wherever her feelings are living, it must be someplace secret. Josie can’t just order too much cheesecake from Breadstix and gorge on Italian food while she gushes about Hope’s smile.

Scratch that. She _could_ , but Hope would probably never forgive her.

“A friend you want to kiss?” Lizzie supplies, unhelpfully. Josie’s blush attacks her with a new force and she glares over at Lizzie, suddenly wishing she had heat vision.

“I might have a small crush on her.” Josie admits, not giving much away at all. She knows she won’t get out of this conversation without saying something. “It’s nothing, really. Hope is straighter than straight.”

Wow.

That last sentence hits Josie like a punchline. She swiftly resumes her counting, worried that she’ll laugh or smile stupidly or do something that will give her away. Why is lying so hard?

Lizzie frowns. “But-“

“Let’s drop it.” Caroline interjects, her voice a little strained, like maybe she pities Josie for having a hopeless crush. “I missed Breadstix. I’ll order some pasta, why don’t you girls go change?”

Both teenagers mumble something about how they can order food themselves, but their protests are half-hearted and purely obligational. It feels as if complaining a bit is in their contract, though it’s clear neither of them truly mind having someone else be around the house.

Ever since Alaric started up the Glee Club, he’s been distant with them. He’s there for breakfast, but never for dinner, and when they see him at school he sometimes forgets to return their greetings.

It’s almost like he’s forgotten he has daughters.

Josie shakes the thought away. She has had enough angst for one day. Besides, they’re a part of the club that Alaric is so fond of, so in a way it’s like he’s actually paying attention to them.

Yeah. Things are fine.

Josie gets dressed in her room, putting on a pair of loose pajamas and tying her hair up into a ponytail. She gathers the essentials from her room, including the bag she has already packed for Regionals, and crosses the hall to join Lizzie.

“You didn’t have to say that, you know.” Josie points out when she enters.

Lizzie glances up from where she’s searching her drawers for some pajamas. She looks over Josie before averting her gaze guiltily.

“Say what?”

“You know what.” Josie crawls on Lizzie’s bed. She wastes no time in messing up the pillows, feeling spiteful. “That thing about Hope.”

Lizzie continues to sort through her drawer, the perfect image of innocence for a second until her mask drops. She plucks out a mismatched set and shuts the drawer without much care, sighing heavily as she removes her shirt.

“You should talk about her.” Lizzie tosses her shirt at Josie, effectively shutting Josie up before she can protest. “Don’t pout at me, let me speak. I know how you tend to bottle stuff up, but when Hope fell earlier you looked… broken? I don’t know.”

Josie sucks in a breath, her heart hammering in her chest, words threatening to spill out of her mouth. She has the sudden, unbearable urge to tell someone about every little thing that’s happened recently.

The cuddles. The kisses. Everything.

“Liz-“

“I’m just saying.” Lizzie plows on. “If your feelings are that strong, you should say something.”

Her mouth clamps shut determinedly. Josie can’t say _everything_. She can barely say anything. Lizzie seems to know this and dresses quickly in the silence, her eyes not resting on Josie the whole time. All of her actions scream _no pressure,_ yet Josie notices the hint of desperation that comes when Lizzie’s gaze finally flickers towards her.

“I really like her.” Josie admits, leaving it at that. Confessions rattle her teeth sickly, but she keeps her lips pressed firmly together.

This is not the time to ruin everything.

“Okay.” Lizzie accepts that, nodding. “Good. I can work with this.”

“Wait? What?”

Lizzie rushes out the door, but not before throwing a pillow Josie’s way. Josie narrowly dodges it and breathes a sigh of relief when it smacks against the wall instead of knocking over a lamp or something.

“You’re an ass!” Josie calls after Lizzie, but she doesn’t mean it. Not even a little bit. Not at all.

—————

The room is abnormally bright when Josie wakes up the next morning. She scowls at the sunlight, feeling sleepy enough to swear at Lizzie’s excessive amount of windows and lack of curtains.

After a moment, Josie blinks herself into full consciousness. She climbs out of bed with no small hint of reluctance, the only thing bringing her any energy being the noises she can hear from downstairs. It’s unusually loud. For once the house might be completely full, with everyone properly awake but Josie.

Josie feels for her phone under the covers. She shifts around the sheets briefly before finding it and firing off a text to Hope, praying that she is already up.

**Can I come over or are you still high?**

No response comes within the minute Josie waits, so she tucks her phone into her pocket and wanders downstairs.

Just as expected, everyone is bustling around in the kitchen. Caroline is flipping pancakes while she laughs at some story Lizzie is telling over her eggs, and Alaric is busying himself with the coffee maker. He looks unexpectedly happy to see Josie and whisks her into a hug as soon as she steps into the room.

“Good, you’re here.” Her dad says, once he releases her. Josie beams, still buzzing with the warmth of affection. “I’m pretty sure I messed up the coffee.”

Oh. Right.

She has beverage duties.

Josie’s smile falters slightly as he nudges her towards the four cups he’s already poured. She inspects them carefully, ever the expert, while Lizzie goes ahead and boldly tries a sip.

“Dearest father…” Lizzie begins slowly, her face pinched as she sets down the mug. “Why are you trying to poison us?”

Caroline laughs, loud and unashamed, and Alaric merely rolls his eyes as he goes to dump out the liquid. Josie stops him halfway on his journey to the sink, snatching up one of the mugs and slurping down its contents in a big gulp. Lizzie watches, looking at Josie like she’s crazy.

It is truly the worst cup of coffee Josie has ever had in her entire life.

“It’s perfect.” Josie lies, pleased with the grateful smile she receives in return.

The moment is golden but fleeting and soon Alaric is bent over the counter, scarfing down three of the pancakes Caroline put out first. He chews them messily. Crumbs get caught in the edges of his beard as he explains how he has to go and hurriedly thanks Caroline for breakfast.

“You’re both gross.” Lizzie grumbles under her breath, loading up her plate and walking out into the living room without further comment.

The front door slams shut seconds later, signaling that their dad is also gone.

Josie drifts towards Caroline and doesn’t hesitate to help her with the rest of the pancakes and the eggs. Once everything is in a pan and cooking, she sets the dirty bowls in the sink and collects the eggshells to toss them in the trash.

“And then there were two.” Caroline points out ominously, then cracks a smile half a second later.

“How’s life been?” Josie asks. Now that the kitchen is less crowded, it’s easier to be heard. “Are you still dating that guy… Tony?”

“Tyler.” Caroline corrects.

They fall into easy conversation. Caroline has no problem rambling about boys and Josie is perfectly fine with standing around and listening. She enjoys how simple it is to get comfortable with monotony, moving through the motions of scrambling the eggs without much thought.

Eventually they plate the last of the food and put all of the dishes in the sink. Josie takes the break to check her phone, smiling when she sees an answering text from Hope.

_You can come over_

Josie’s smile grows but she sets the device aside. “Can we make the cookies after breakfast?”

“Sure.”

If Caroline notices Josie scarfing down her meal like a starving man, she doesn’t comment on it.

Their streak of comfortability continues as they load the peanut butter cookies in the oven and sticks around while they wait for them to be ready.

It takes virtually no time at all. Josie leaves to go shower and get dressed, and when she comes back Caroline has the cookies out of the oven and sealed in a medium-sized container.

“You look nice.” Caroline comments.

“Thanks.” Josie replies, smoothing her hands down her skirt.

It’s not the first time she’s done this and she doesn’t hesitate to repeat the action, as if a wrinkle in the fabric is going to make Hope suddenly not want to kiss her.

Caroline hands Josie the cookies and gives her a careful once-over. “You should take my car.”

“Really?” Josie yanks Caroline into a hug when she nods. Caroline pats her back warmly. “Thank you.”

She tries not to sound too excited.

She fails.

Josie practically skips out the front door with the keys, glad that she won’t have to walk in the heat. She would have gotten all sweaty and pit stains are definitely not attractive and- god, she’s being weird.

_Don’t be weird, don’t be weird, don’t be weird._ Josie repeats the mantra in her head until she reaches Hope’s house, then she shuts off the engine and tries to calm herself down. There’s an odd flutter in her stomach, like a butterfly is flapping its wings against her insides.

Oh no. Hope has turned Josie into one of those lame teenagers that adores whoever they’re dating.

Josie kind of loves it.

She exits the car with the container in hand, readily walking up the Mikaelsons’ lawn and ringing their doorbell.

Hayley greets her on the porch and, as usual, looks glad to see her. “Josie, come in. Hope is upstairs brooding.”

Josie raises her eyebrows, unsure of what exactly brooding looks like for Hope. Hayley guides her up the stairs but abandons her in the hall, leaving Josie to peer through Hope’s open door herself.

Brooding isn’t the word Josie would use to describe what Hope’s doing.

_Painting_ is a lot more accurate, considering Hope is standing near an easel with a paintbrush in hand. Hope looks as if she has recently gotten done with a thorough shower. Her skin is scrubbed clean of everything - not just of dirt, but of pain and exhaustion. She smiles when she spots Josie, and her grin not only meets her eyes, but meets the rest of her, too.

“Come here.” Hope calls her over instantly and Josie approaches with light footsteps, walking on air.

Once Josie is standing next to Hope, she can see the details on the canvas. It looks as if Hope is only just beginning, but the intention of the painting is clear. Warm colors streak against the canvas, making up the bottom half of someone’s face. A soft, tan jaw and the pink curves of full lips are captured in intricate strokes, every swipe of paint deliberate and cared for.

“Is this me?” Josie asks, breathless, struck once again by how beautifully Hope sees her. Hope nods shyly and Josie has to clear her throat to avoid saying something too emotional. “Do I get clothes this time?”

Hope rolls her eyes. “Stop it, you’re not funny.”

“I’m hilarious.”

Josie giggles and Hope smiles at her warmly for a moment, until she drags the paintbrush over Josie’s nose. Josie squeaks at the wet substance on her skin and wipes at it quickly, but it only spreads across her palm.

_“Hope.”_ She grumbles, pouting at Hope’s laughter.

Hope sets down her brush so she can pick up a towel with her free hand. As she steps into Josie’s space, Josie feels her heartbeat hammer against her chest. She wonders if Hope can hear it the same way Josie does, thudding loudly in her ears.

The towel is swiped over the tip of Josie’s nose twice before Josie can’t feel the weight of the paint anymore, but even then Hope stays in place, settled firmly in Josie’s space.

“There you go, you big baby.” Hope murmurs, letting her hand linger. “Why do I always end up cleaning you off?”

“Because you’re the one that always makes me messy.”

Hope seems to find this deeply amusing, as if it’s an essential part of their routine for Hope to mark Josie with slushie dye, paint, or her mouth. Josie finds the amusement in it too, once she pushes past the thick wad of emotion that purrs at getting little traces of Hope stuck in her.

Speaking of purring…

“Where’s Yoda?” Josie looks around the room, stepping away.

“No, no.” Hope practically whines, an adorable frown building on her mouth as she wraps her uninjured arm around Josie and draws her back in place. “I still haven’t gotten your eyes right.”

The next few moments are excessively gentle. Hope is careful about holding Josie’s jaw as she turns her head every which way, alternating between staring blatantly at her eyes and mixing paints until she reaches a perfect brown.

Despite the softness of the moment, Josie feels every little action as if it’s severe. Hope’s fingertips brand heat into the delicate skin under Josie’s eyes while she copies the color of them onto the canvas. Something addictive enters her blood at every careful touch, her nerves growing so alert that she buzzes with electricity.

Once again, Josie feels stained and breathless and _messy_.

Why is she reacting like this? Is she really so touch-starved? Josie got two hugs this morning, so that can’t be it, and yet she feels the craving deep in her bones.

“Stay still.” Hope instructs softly, somehow sensing Josie’s restlessness. “I’m almost done.”

Josie anchors her feet to the floor, only now noticing how she had been swaying slightly. She glances over at the painting. True to her word, Hope is nearly done with the eyes.

“Those are really nice.” Josie gestures shortly to the paints Hope is mixing. The words slip from her mouth in a whisper and, though she isn’t sure why, it feels right to do so.

Hope nods distractedly. “Yeah, they’re my dad’s.”

“Your dad paints?” Josie asks, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.

Huh. Weird.

It’s strange how many different perspectives people are viewed under, how many different ways they can be painted. To Josie, Klaus is simply the man that she rushes past on the way into Hope’s room. To Hope, he’s someone else, someone wonderful.

“Stop looking at me like that.” Hope tilts her head to the side in concentration, not looking at Josie while she speaks. “You always look so shocked whenever I mention something nice about my life, like we’re constantly mean to each other. We have manners. We’re polite.”

That last part has more of a joking tilt to it, almost as if Hope is reciting something she says often. A secret smile plays on her lips that Josie can’t help but zero in on, her eyebrows slowly raising in question.

“Was that an Orange Is the New Black reference?” Josie asks. No response comes, but Hope’s rising blush is answer enough. “That’s so…”

“Don’t say it.” Hope cuts her off, her cheeks still colored darkly and her smile light as ever.

It takes another minute for Hope to finally put the paintbrush down. When Hope announces that she is done, she waits around and stares at Josie with a wide, hopeful gaze. The look she gives reminds Josie of a puppy. She can’t help but run her fingers through Hope’s hair adoringly, almost petting her.

“It’s perfect.” Josie says honestly, even though the painting is still unfinished. “I love it.”

Hope tips forward, no doubt in search of a kiss, but she bumps into the cookie container before she reaches Josie’s body.

“Are those peanut butter cookies?” Hope asks, with all of the excitement of someone who hasn’t tasted sugar in months. Josie nods and pushes the container into Hope’s waiting hands.

Watching Hope murmur a quick _thank you_ before stuffing her mouth with one of the cookies is almost as good as a kiss. Almost. Josie stands there, trying not to appear impatient as she watches Hope’s cheeks puff up with the dessert.

It’s so, so cute.

Josie would be able to fully enjoy it if Hope hadn’t already carved desperation right into her chest.

It’s not like she can just ask for a kiss. That would make her sound too needy. Right? Right. Plus, Hope is eating, her mouth is busy.

“You’re going to ruin your dinner.” Josie says, cringing almost immediately. Great. She sounds like a mom.

That’s not sexy… or is it? Josie has seen some weird stuff on the internet.

Hope laughs, but she gets the message and sets the cookies down elsewhere. Another second barely goes by before Hope is connecting their lips. She must have mind-reading powers or is simply just as needy as Josie.

Josie hopes it’s the second one.

If Hope were to read her mind right now, Josie would be absolutely mortified, because every thought that her mind produces is utterly filthy. She won’t say them aloud, ever. She won’t even make any noise at all.

Josie stays determined to keep their kiss sweet until she feels Hope prodding her with her spare hand. She backs up and Hope readily follows. It surprises her when her knees hit the bed frame. Josie feels as if she’s being guided through the dark, which she technically is, because her eyes are shut when Hope pushes her back on the bed.

Hope wobbles on top of her slightly and Josie finally gains some sense. She pries her mouth away, instantly hit with an overwhelming mix of everything.

Peanut butter cookies, the strong scent of paint, a puff of warm breath on her jaw. Every little detail is intoxicating and so, so distracting.

What was she worried about again?

Oh, right.

“Hope, your arm.” Despite the distinction, Josie gestures to Hope’s whole body. Since Hope is poised over Josie, all of her weight is held on one shaky palm.

“It’s fine.” Hope replies, tipping down before Josie can get another word out.

Hope kisses her so passionately and surely that for a moment Josie thinks it’s fine to go on like this, but she can feel Hope tilting dangerously to one side. Josie has to steady Hope with a hand on her hip, and while she’s at it she pushes upwards and sends Hope flipping over onto her back.

A quiet huff comes from Hope’s lips until Josie moves over to straddle her, and then that huff turns into more of a surprised squeak.

Josie rests her hands on the sides of Hope’s face, her fingers long enough to stretch out and cover Hope’s jaw. She revels in the obvious blush on Hope’s cheeks and swipes her thumbs over them, feeling the heat there.

“Go out with me.” Hope breathes.

With how close they are, Josie can see how widely blown Hope’s pupils are. In fact, she can see every detail that puts Hope’s lust on display. The flushed cheeks, the dark eyes, the way Hope fights for breath as if Josie stole all of the oxygen in the world.

“Anytime.” Josie punctuates each word with a kiss, her pulse thrumming rapidly throughout her body. “Anyplace.”

Hope tilts her head sideways and latches onto the softest part of Josie’s neck, speaking the next sentence into her throat like she can’t take a break to talk.

“Now.”

Josie barely registers the word. It slips from her mind altogether as soon as teeth scrape carefully over her pulse point. That rule about not making noise is broken really fucking quickly and Josie would be annoyed with herself, if she wasn’t busy rocking into Hope eagerly.

Grinding.

That’s what she’s doing. She’s _grinding_ down on Hope Mikaelson. Holy fucking hell.

Hope’s fingers tease up her sides and a thought pops into Josie’s head, blaring out a warning.

Is Hope’s door unlocked?

Josie tilts away, keeping her hands steadied on Hope’s shoulders so Hope can’t follow after her mouth. She turns her head to look and sees that the door is not only unlocked, but hanging wide open.

God, they’re stupid.

“I’ll get the door.” Josie stands up reluctantly and shuts it. When she returns, Hope is panting and staring up at the ceiling, trying to collect herself. “Did you just say we should go on a date right now?”

“Yeah.”

Hope sounds as if she just ran a marathon. Josie can’t blame her. She’s the exact same way, just as far gone.

“Don’t we have dinner?” Josie questions as she curls up against Hope’s side.

Her head rests on Hope’s chest, right near the bundle of heat and pounding that is Hope’s heart. Josie smiles secretly, glad to find the rhythm of it absolutely out of control in her presence.

“Yeah, but that’s with our parents.” Hope points out, as if Josie hasn’t been thinking about the upcoming event for hours now. “I can’t court you properly with them there.”

Josie pauses.

“Did you just say _court?_ ”

“No.” Hope replies, though she very obviously did. Josie giggles into Hope’s skin, amused with how old-fashioned Hope sounds. Meanwhile, Hope slaps a hand over her face and groans dramatically. “Fucking Elijah.”

That last bit catches Josie’s attention, mostly because it’s muttered into the middle of Hope’s palm, like another private bit of information she is passing on to Josie.

“Who’s Elijah?” She asks, prying Hope’s hand from her face and not meeting much resistance.

“My uncle. He’s very… proper?” Hope’s features twist as she tries to find the right adjective. “Polite? Gentlemanly? I don’t know. He always wears a suit, it’s sort of an obsession.”

Josie props herself up on her elbow and allows her eyes to roam Hope’s face for a while. There’s a certain fondness that always accompanies Hope’s words whenever she talks about her family. It makes Josie itch to know more. Surely there has to be something beyond the cold dinners and stiff exchanges that Josie usually witnesses.

“How many siblings do your parents have?” Josie questions. It seems only fitting. First there’s an Aunt Freya and _now_ an Uncle Elijah.

Just how many Mikaelsons are there?

“My mom is an only child, but my dad has six. Elijah, Freya, Rebekah, Kol, Henry, and Finn.” She lists them all while counting on her fingers.

Well.

That’s intimidating.

Josie tries to imagine all six of them, the same as Klaus and Hope, with sharp jawlines and startling eyes. She pictures one of them in a suit and quickly decides that meeting them all at once would probably stop her heart. She can barely handle Hope’s intensity, how is she supposed to deal with the rest?

“What about your family?” Hope prompts, noticing Josie getting lost in her thoughts.

“I don’t have a lot of relatives. It’s mostly family friends.” Josie explains. When Hope nods at her to list them, Josie takes a big breath to prepare.

For the next few minutes, Josie goes on to tell Hope about all of her random family friends. She talks about how she is pretty sure Bonnie is actually psychic and how Elena gives her several new books every Christmas while Jeremy complains that _kids don’t want that stuff_.

She goes through the whole explanation slowly, so as to not overwhelm Hope, but Hope seems accustomed to big families and drama. Hope simply nods along to show she’s listening and absorbs the information, and once Josie is done her only comment is about how strange the dating combinations sound.

It makes Josie want to invite Hope to Christmas, just so she can introduce her to everyone and rave about how beautiful and perfect her girlfriend is.

That would probably be too much too fast. They haven’t even gone on a first date yet.

As if reading her mind, Hope pipes up. “So, do you want to go get lunch or something?”

Josie considers this for a moment, thinking over the effort it would take to get up and leave the house, and then shakes her head.

“No.” Josie continues before Hope’s happy expression can falter. “I want to stay here with you. This could be our first date. It’s nice.”

“It is.” Hope agrees, after a moment of consideration.

The easiness of the situation brings a grin to Josie’s face. It stretches even wider when Hope stands to go fetch the peanut butter cookies. She comes back in no time at all and offers Josie two that are stacked up in her hand.

“Is this courting?” Josie questions teasingly as she bites into a cookie. It’s really good.

“Yes.”

“Good. I like it.”

And she _does_.

For the next few hours, they sit on Hope’s bed and discuss whatever random things pop into their minds. Favorite movies, go-to Breadstix orders, opinions on aliens, and a thousand other mindless things that don’t really matter, but at the same time feel incredibly important.

Josie learns that Hope thinks cats are demon spawn but absolutely loves dogs, and Hope learns about how Josie sometimes writes short songs with her ukulele.

Details like that are passed back and forth until Josie kitten-yawns (Hope’s words, not hers) and Hope suggests they watch a movie on her laptop. So, that’s how Josie ends up spooning Hope while they watch Into the Woods and clean the container of its crumbs.

“We just _had_ to watch a musical.” Hope murmurs when they’re halfway into one of the grand musical numbers. “This club has really taken over our lives.”

“You love it.” Josie responds. She is ninety percent sure she heard Hope humming along to the last song, so she knows Hope is enjoying herself.

Even if she isn’t, Josie is reluctant to get up and move. Hope is so warm that they aren’t even using a blanket, just clinging to each other in the faint darkness of Hope’s room. Josie begins to wonder what time it is as the sunlight fades away, but when she shifts to check her phone Hope mewls and draws her closer.

Hope adjusts their joined hands so Josie’s palms are under her shirt and her fingers are splayed against firm muscle.

Nope. Josie isn’t going to do this. She is not the type of teenager that can’t get through a movie, all because she can feel Hope’s abs. Besides, Josie loves this musical. She never wants them to come out of the woods, even if the movie is starting to seem excessively long.

So, yep. She’s _fine_.

The movie continues for another torturous few minutes before Hope moves again, shifting back enough that she presses flush against Josie’s front.

Josie’s teeth scrape against her tongue so hard that she tastes the faintest hint of blood. She smooths it over the roof of her mouth in what she thinks is a discrete action, but she must make some sort of pained noise because Hope turns to face her.

“Are you feeling okay?” Hope asks, such genuine concern shining in her eyes that Josie feels sort of bad for perverting the moment - though her hands are still being held firmly under Hope’s shirt.

This isn’t totally her fault.

“I’m fine.” Josie forces a smile. Her fingers curl unconsciously and Hope makes a little noise, squirming, muscles jumping under Josie’s touch.

Fuck it.

There’s a millisecond where the words _we just made out_ ring in Josie’s head, but all of the shame of doing this a second time bleeds away to desire. She decides it doesn’t matter if they do this twice in one day or start early in the morning and simply never stop, as long as they get to do it.

Josie allows Hope to lead her through the kiss, since this is their first date and she doesn’t want to tip things too far. Problem is, it doesn’t feel like their first date. It feels as if they’re greeting each other after a thousand years of longing. They’ve done this enough that there’s no hesitation, no pausing, nothing but familiar, heated actions.

As much as Josie tries to stay controlled, her fingers are absentmindedly tapping out a rhythm on Hope’s ribs. She leaves them there, unsure about taking off Hope’s shirt, though it’s already pushed up obscenely high.

“Can I…” Josie trails off, giving the fabric one short tug to get her point across.

Hope nods, overeager and shaky. “Yes, please.”

Josie would say she loves Hope like this, but love is too strong of a word to use so early into their relationship. So, let’s just say she _adores_ how wanton Hope becomes after a few long kisses, how low her voice gets when she really wants something.

She can’t deny Hope anything.

Josie pulls at the garment with more force - and there it goes. Up and off. Well, mostly.

Stupid fucking cast.

“How did you even get this on?” Josie questions in disbelief, having to slow down to ease the tight sleeve down Hope’s cast. Seriously, what the hell?

“It’s not _that_ tight.” Hope says, as if Josie isn’t fighting to work it off of her right now.

Is this spandex?

“It’s not that tight.” Josie mimics childishly. _Halfway there…_

“Mimicking. Very mature.” Hope chuckles under her, the movement shaking Josie’s thighs. “I’m so very turned on now.”

Josie smacks Hope’s chest lightly but pauses shortly after, worrying that she has hurt Hope. Her eyebrows pinch together in both concern and confusion. She didn’t even hit Hope hard, but she swears that she just heard a gasp.

It apparently didn’t come from Hope, and Josie doesn’t think she made a noise either, so…

Oh.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little warning, the first half of this chapter is kind of dark and sad so read with caution, though the second half is different.

There is a moment that every human goes through when they wake up, where for a second they are stuck between full consciousness and sleep. In that second there is no movement, no thoughts, barely even a heartbeat.

That is how Hope Mikaelson feels right now.

Like she’s paralyzed, unable to do anything other than stare at her mother in the doorway and hold her breath until Hayley focuses her eyes on the floor.

“You should get ready for dinner, Hope.” Hayley says simply, her voice strained on the first syllable but not anywhere else.

It’s like nothing happened.

Except, that’s a lie.

Hope’s heartbeat kicks in again with full force. The pounding in her chest is so hard that it rattles her entire body and shakes her stomach to the point of sickness. It takes her seconds to realize that she’s trembling. It takes her longer to realize that for once, she doesn’t want Josie on top of her.

She can barely breathe. Josie is overwhelming in normal situations, but _now_ -

“Let me get this straight.” Hope breathes. Her fingers tap a beat on Josie’s thigh, her anger coming out in the form of restlessness. “You shut the door, but you didn’t lock the door?”

“Hope-“

“I mean seriously, Josie, just how stupid are you?” She laughs wetly, though it feels as if the humor has been sucked out of her universe.

It seems as if none of her emotions have truly set in yet. She isn’t even crying. Hope thinks she might be in denial. How do you tell if you’re in denial when your entire life has just been one sad, repressed clusterfuck?

“Are you blaming all of this on me?” Josie asks.

Yes.

Hope keeps the word hidden against the back of her teeth, not letting it pass through. She still has enough sense to know that this could very easily lead to an argument. Every interaction they have is five steps away from a fight.

Isn’t that what they’ve been doing for years? Fight and argue and bicker. Hope is tired of it.

She traces Josie’s features for a moment. Her cheeks are still flushed, her eyes not as light as they usually are, her lips puffy like someone kissed her roughly. That _someone_ is Hope.

Shit.

“No. Not all of it.” Hope runs her free hand through her hair. Her other is still wrapped in a cast and part of a shirt. “I have to… I’ll see you at dinner, okay?”

It’s a clear dismissal. Hope is glad when Josie takes the hint without having to be told twice. If it were Landon in her bed, he would linger around and pester her about opening up to him. Then again, if it were Landon in her bed, this wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Josie is so far from Landon. She gets up without a word. More air rushes into Hope’s lungs now that she can’t feel the weight of another person on top of her, but the oxygen is stolen once again when she glances at Josie and catches her smoothing down her skirt. She looks unfairly good like this, tousled by Hope’s hands. It’s a fleeting image, because soon Josie leaves, just like Hope asked her to.

Is this gay thing 24/7? It must be. This is the worst possible time to be admiring another girl, and yet here Hope is. God, she’s such a-

Hope shuts her eyes tightly as she hears the front door shut downstairs, imagining every slur in the book. She can think of a hundred. They never used to matter, back when they didn’t apply to her. If she’s honest, Hope has tossed a few cruel words around herself, but she only did it because that’s what _everyone_ at school does.

Memories begin to flash through Hope’s head.

_Hope pulls her uniform top off slower than usual, her muscles sore from a long practice. Her skirt sticks to her waist oddly due to all of the sweat, sitting uncomfortably on her waist. She should probably take a shower before she leaves the school._

_A few girls can be heard speaking over the rustling of clothing being removed, voices pitched slightly louder than the others due to the_ laughter.

_“No, I swear to god.” One of the girls is saying. It’s some mousy little freshman from the bottom of the pyramid. “She, like, totally tried to kiss me.”_

_“That’s disgusting.” The other girl replies._

_Hope rolls her eyes. The only thing keeping her from asking them who they are talking about is the fact that she makes a point about avoiding freshman Cheerios. They adore her. It’s sort of creepy, honestly._

_“I know, right? I can’t even use the bathroom at school anymore. What if she tries to molest me or something?” The girl continues, visibly pleased when her friends nod along with her._

_The girls momentarily stop talking, but only to strip off the last of their clothes and disappear in the direction of the locker room’s showers. Their chatter picks up again soon enough and this time the sound of water hitting tile accompanies it. They’re so obnoxiously loud that Hope can still hear every word they’re saying._

_She decides she won’t shower after all._

Before Hope can really get a grasp on her thoughts, another memory slips to the front of her mind and sticks there.

_“I’m cold.” Hope says as a gust of wind blows by them. She isn’t really very chilly, but it pleases her to watch Landon scramble to offer his letterman jacket to her._

_Hope makes a show of wrapping the jacket around herself, knowing that Landon’s last name is possessively splayed along the back. She has to push the sleeves up to get her hands out from under it. Big clothing is practically the only thing teenage boys are good for._

_“Did you hear about that kid from Westlake? I heard he got bullied so much he had to transfer to Dalton.” Landon informs Sebastian. While he talks, Hope glances over Landon’s body, noticing he isn’t as scrawny as he used to be._

_Good. It’ll give her something to brag about to the other girls._

_Sebastian sits up a bit, a smirk already in place. It takes everything in Hope not to roll her eyes immediately. Seb’s cousin goes to Westlake (another average public school that is so far out of town it’s become legend) and he never misses a chance to gossip like a little girl about what goes on outside of Mystic Falls._

_Even Penelope and Maya tip closer to him, eager to hear about whatever goes on to people who don’t live in their mediocre hometown._

_“Of course he transferred to Dalton. My cousin knows him, says he’s about the gayest guy you’ll ever meet.” Sebastian explains._

_Penelope looks off into the distance, suddenly seeming as disinterested with this conversation as Hope is. Maya’s mind is on another topic as always, her lips wrapped around the straw leading down into her protein shake._

_“Let’s talk about something else.” Penelope suggests and Hope nods. “I deal with enough gossiping idiots in the Cheerios.”_

_All the girls seem to be in agreement, but the boys of the group have other ideas._

_“Your cousin hangs out with gay dudes?” Landon asks, clearly trying to get a rise out of Sebastian. He’s been doing that a lot lately - acting needlessly aggressive in Hope’s presence, trying to prove that he’s manly._

_Sebastian frowns. “No.”_

_“It makes sense, he’s a fairy.” He continues. Hope shifts her weight and scratches her wrist absentmindedly. The jacket feels rather itchy all of a sudden. “He’s probably taking it up the-“_

_Sebastian tackles him in an instant. They go rolling down the bleachers in a heap of long limbs. Hope watches the fight for a while, wondering if this is another one of Landon’s attempts at impressing her._

_If it is, it’s the worst one yet._

Hope’s mouth releases a long exhale. It sounds too loud in the emptiness of her room. In fact, it might be the only noise Hope can hear at all. Everything is silent. It’s strange, because when she imagined this happening there was usually chaos involved. She hasn’t been yelled at or told that she’s going to hell, but then again Hope is sitting in her room avoiding her problems.

Hayley is probably downstairs. Hope assumes her mom watched Josie walk out and is now standing in the kitchen or sitting in the living room, waiting for Hope to make a move.

Hope gets up off the bed and steps into the hall. It takes her longer than she would like to admit to go down the stairs, mostly because she has this horrible image of herself descending into hell.

It’s not as bad as it could be, though. Actually, the moment is sort of calm.

Seriously.

She can’t feel anything - not any sadness, not an ounce of anxiety, not even the floorboards under her feet.

Hope glides into the kitchen like a ghost, totally detached from the world and her own emotions as she finally lays eyes on her mom. Hayley is leaning against the counter, staring thoughtfully into a half-full wine glass, just as expected.

“Mom?” Hope prompts. A second passes and she hugs her elbows for comfort.

Another second goes.

Three seconds.

Four.

“You should get ready for dinner.” Hayley says, right when Hope is beginning to mull over the idea that she died upstairs and is now actually a ghost.

Of course, if she died she wouldn’t be a ghost. There would either be heaven or hell, so Hope must be alive, though she isn’t completely sure if her heart is beating. It doesn’t help that her mom is barely responding to her, more focused on her wine than her daughter.

“Can we talk?” Hesitantly, Hope walks further into the kitchen, but keeps herself at arms-length.

“You should get ready for dinner, Hope.” Hayley glances at her. It eases Hope’s brain a little, knowing that she can be seen and she is important, but it also tightens her stomach. She has never seen her mother look so… empty.

Despite the warning signs popping up everywhere, Hope steps closer. It only makes Hayley inch back, shifting her arm away slightly. Hope wonders if this is how it’s going to be now, if she will spend the next year or so being treated as if she’s invisible when she speaks and a leper when she seeks affection.

Is her mom disgusted with her now?

Hope swallows her thoughts, ignoring how they make her throat slick, like gasoline waiting to be ignited. “I just really think we should-“

“Go get ready for dinner Hope.”

It’s as if a lit match has been dropped into her mouth. It sets fire to the delicate walls of her throat, leaves a burning trail all the way down her organs until it finally locks in her stomach and explodes like a nuclear bomb.

“Why won't you look at me?” Hope takes several strong steps forward.

It’s _almost_ satisfying, seconds later, when she snatches the wine glass and throws it across the room. It shatters against a nearby wall in a heap of shards, no liquid leftover but lots of sharp pieces. Hope has fantasized about doing that for years now, but she has never once thought that she would actually go through with it.

Hayley clearly wasn’t expecting that either, because she forgets her facade for a moment, long enough to properly look at Hope. As soon as she does, Hope sees something flash in her mother’s eyes.

Understanding?

No. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be, and yet the look on Hayley’s face lands like a wet blanket on the fire that is Hope’s anger.

“You knew.” Hope whispers, her voice too soft for the action she just performed.

Hayley sputters, either thrown off by the accusation or Hope’s abrupt shift in emotion. “No. How could I have-“

“You knew I wasn’t happy and that I needed you. I _needed_ my mom.” Hope inhales sharply, every emotion she had kept away rushing into her body and releasing itself in a sob. “And you were so scared of what Dad would do that you just pushed it aside, like we do every bad feeling in this house.”

The dam breaks somewhere in her speech. Tears build in her eyes and streak down her cheeks. They make a mess of Hope’s face in an instant. It feels odd to cry in this kitchen, to stand in a place that is near perfection and whimper so pathetically. If Hope is honest, it feels odd to breathe in this house at all.

Did she ever fit into the family? Did she ever even have a chance or was she marked an abomination at birth?

Hope breathes heavily, the air coming out of her mouth in hard pants. She feels it again - the disconnect from everything she’s ever known. It only haunts her for a second before Hope feels a pair of arms encircle her and realizes that Hayley is hugging her.

They haven’t done this in years, mostly because Hope made the decision a long time ago that she wouldn’t do something as embarrassing as allowing her mom to hold her. All of that seems stupid now, like it was part of her old life (though her old life only died a couple of minutes ago).

The world has never made Hope Mikaelson feel so small before.

“You weren’t like this before, I used to be proud of you.” Hope murmurs into her mother’s neck - still crying, still feeling hateful. “You’re a coward. You’ve made me a coward. I don’t want to be like this forever, mom.”

“I know. You won’t be.” Hayley rocks her back and forth, swaying them together gently.

They stay that way forever. At least, it feels like forever. Life slows down for a while, long enough that Hope’s sobs turn to quiet sniffles and they almost forget that there are glass shards scattered across the floor.

Almost.

Eventually, Hayley leans back enough to look Hope in the eye. “You can’t throw things.”

“Sorry.”

In some odd way, Hope is glad that she’s being disciplined again. She missed how Hayley used to be before Freya left - argumentative, witty, just as stubborn and brave as Klaus.

“Go upstairs and get dressed, okay?” Hayley gives her a reassuring smile and tips her head up towards the stairs. “I’ll clean up the glass.”

Finally, Hope agrees to Hayley’s ongoing request and returns to her room after one more squeeze.

Hope wrings out her hands as soon as she shuts and locks the door (she thinks she called Josie stupid earlier - fuck), feeling the same way she did after she returned from the hospital. It’s that strange bit of relief that comes right after something horrible happened, like the sweet smell of wet grass in the aftermath of a storm.

Her aftermath goes like this: Hope splashes two handfuls of tap water onto her face, congratulates herself for getting through this, and pulls out the outfit she has been mentally planning since she heard about the dinner.

A half hour later, Hope is inspecting her reflection in the mirror. Two hoop earrings hang from her ears, swaying in front of her wavy hair. She has a blood red dress on that ends modestly high on her thigh. It makes her look attractive but keeps most of her skin hidden.

In short, it’s perfect.

One of Hope’s many skills is cleaning herself up wonderfully after a breakdown. All Hope has to do is decide what to do with her lips. Her original vision included light pink lip gloss, but now she thinks the red lipstick is best. It’s a more striking color, and Hope is feeling bold.

—————

Hope is still wearing the lipstick when dinner finally comes around, but she isn’t feeling nearly as bold.

They chose to take the Saltzmans out to the most expensive restaurant in town and that fact alone has made the night seem more important than it really is. As far as anyone knows, this is simply one family treating another to a friendly meal. It still feels as if it’s really Hope going through the whole ‘meet the parents’ milestone.

While Hope met Mr. Saltzman years ago, she has never met Caroline while sober. Besides, it’s not like her and Mr. Saltzman have ever had an actual conversation. That would be weird. They have only spoken in passing, swapping brief words about homework or a Glee Club assignment.

Plus, things are different now for a variety of reasons. This is a more formal setting, Hope and Josie are dating, and Hayley now knows that there is something going on between them.

They should probably talk more later.

Much later, because the Saltzmans are currently approaching the spot where Hope is standing with her parents.

Her dad must have called one of them to let them know how to dress, because they all look nicer than usual in fancy clothes. Especially Josie. Josie, who nearly gives Hope a heart attack in her pretty purple dress. She looks magnificent. Wonderful. Absolutely gorgeous.

It takes a solid minute for Hope to realize not only that she’s leering, but that her mom is watching her gawk.

Color blooms on Hope’s cheeks once she notices Hayley staring. She drops her gaze to the floor immediately, her whole face hotter than it’s been in… well, hours, because her skin was pretty heated a little while ago when Josie decided to straddle her.

Anyways, Hope still thinks she needs to have a long conversation with her mom about everything that’s been going on. She has no idea if Hayley is okay with her attraction to Josie or if this is going to be one of those things where it’s only okay if she never acts on it again.

Hope glances warily at her parents, but all of their attention seems to be on greeting the Saltzmans. Good. Hope can do that.

Okay, so she can only sort of do that.

She kind of forgot that the Saltzman family includes Lizzie. It dawns on her fully that she hasn’t ever really spoken to the blonde properly when everyone begins to pair off in the restaurant’s lobby. Klaus and Alaric begin to swap casual work stories, Hayley compliments Caroline’s choice of jewelry, and Hope stays silent as she stands between the twins.

This is so awkward. Normally, Hope can keep up a conversation with ease. Josie and Lizzie seem to know that and keep staring at her.

It’s been a long day. Jeez.

“You two look nice.” Hope says eventually. She scans both of them to come up with a further comment. Lizzie has on something light blue and Josie has all of her hair pinned to one side so a large part of her neck is exposed. Christ. “Uh, Lizzie where’d you get your dress?”

While Lizzie rambles on about the previous whereabouts of her outfit, Hope tries very hard not to think about Josie and her neck. What is she, a vampire? Her family is here, she needs to get it together.

Eventually, a waiter comes to lead them to their table. He greets Klaus by name while he pulls out the chairs for everyone. It reminds Hope of how Klaus pretty much invites everyone here when he wants to make a good impression, so much so that multiple people in the staff know his first name.

One time Hope asked him why he felt the need to splurge on everyone that was particularly nice to their family and she got an hour long lecture about loving thy neighbor.

It’s all Hope can think about while she butters her bread, mostly because she wonders what the lecture will sound like when he finds out about Josie.

“They’re still keeping you on the Cheerios, right?” Klaus asks out of the blue.

Hope raises her head at her father’s voice, wondering why he’s questioning her about something she already explained to him. She furrows her eyebrows, confused until she notices his pointed look towards the bread in her hand.

Right.

“Yeah.” Hope sets the bread on Josie’s plate, trying to play off how her dad just discreetly told her not to eat too many carbs. “I can’t be tossed around or anything, but Coach still wants me to keep up morale for the girls.”

It sucks a little, practically being reduced to the water boy of her own squad for at least a month or two. At least with the Glee Club she gets to keep the same part as before.

“So, you have an opening?” Lizzie questions.

Hope’s first instinct is to say no. She will _not_ let Crazy Lizzie Saltzman on her squad, but then she figures she should stop calling her that, since Hope _is_ dating her sister. It seems rude. Besides, Lizzie isn’t ugly or overweight, and Hope knows that she could probably keep her safe from some of the more vicious girls.

The final nail in the coffin is what Hope sees in the corner of her vision - Josie’s bottom lip jutting out just a bit, her eyes wide and pleading.

Damn it.

“Sort of.” Hope mumbles, fiddling with her napkin. The distraction allows her to delay her response, but she feels Josie tap her knee under the table and crumbles like a fool. “Yeah, there’s a spot open… you should try out.”

The next few minutes are pretty bizarre. Hope spends them having a conversation with Lizzie and actually enjoying it. She already holds herself as if she’s a Cheerio and talks like it, too, but has none of the cruelty or the casual homophobia. Hope ends up laughing into her palm during one of Lizzie’s stories, spurred on by Lizzie’s snark and quick remarks.

Lizzie is funny.

Who knew?

Soon the appetizers come, along with refills on their ice waters and other beverages, and everyone begins to settle at the presence of food. Serving spoons are hurriedly passed around, napkins set in laps, plates going from person to person in a rush.

Overall, the dinner is going relatively well, now that everyone has split into three separate conversations.

Hope is in the middle of explaining what a typical cheerleading practice is like when Josie stretches beside her, the display of prominent collarbones and delicate shoulders enough to slow Hope’s speech quite a bit.

“I’m going to use the restroom.” Josie announces and Hope has to blink hard, because their relationship is so weird that Hope can’t tell if that was an invitation or not.

Is she supposed to follow Josie into the bathroom?

They need a better meeting space. Hope knows that the day is coming when one of them will walk in on the other actually using a bathroom for its intended purpose. That will be horrifying. Hope has pretty much decided that she is only going to use the bathroom when Josie isn’t around.

Hope sits there, weighing her options, forgetting to continue her conversation with Lizzie.

“You look like you’re having a stroke.” Lizzie comments and sips her water absentmindedly, but to Hope it kind of feels like Lizzie is waving her off and telling her to go already.

Why is she getting that vibe?

“I’m going to go fix my makeup.” Hope stands and Lizzie nods easily.

Huh. Lizzie even accepts Hope’s lies without question or complaint. She is going to make a _perfect_ Cheerio. Maybe Hope should become her mentor or something. Later.

Right now, Hope can only focus on one Saltzman twin, so she puts her attention on her favorite. She strolls to the back casually, trying not to seem too overeager, and hesitates at the door.

Is this creepy? Yes.

Is it sort of their _thing?_ Unfortunately, yes.

Hope cracks open the door carefully. Some of her worry fades away once she sees that Josie is simply leaning against one of the sinks and tapping away on her phone.

Josie glances up when the door opens and sets her phone down, smiling softly. “Took you long enough.”

“I thought you might be actually using the bathroom like a normal person.” Hope explains, shrugging. She’s glad Josie isn’t a normal person. She is glad for a lot of things, actually.

It’s a miracle no one seems to use the bathroom whenever they’re in it.

Silence settles between them. Hope stays pressed against the door as the time stretches on, simply watching Josie observe her. It occurs to her that this is a public bathroom and leaning on the door probably isn’t the best idea, so she steps away from it.

The little action must encourage Josie somehow, because she walks forward and pulls Hope into a tight embrace.

“What happened?” Josie asks, her chin bumping against the top of Hope’s head. “I kept thinking about coming back.”

Hope settles further into the hug. She wraps her arms around Josie’s shoulders and brings her closer, which pretty much means that they’re molding against each other. This isn’t smart, considering anyone could walk in, but Hope surprisingly isn’t very worried about it.

What does she have to lose? Klaus certainly isn’t going to barge into the women’s restroom.

“You shouldn’t have. I kind of broke a glass.” Hope admits. She blushes when Josie tilts away to make eye contact. Josie definitely doesn’t need to know about Hope’s occasional temper tantrums.

“Oh my god. Is everything okay?”

Hope shrugs again. “Yeah, the glass was empty, so the walls are fine. I don’t think I would have done it if it was full. Wine stains are the worst.”

“That’s great, but I was actually worried about you.” Josie interjects gently. Her features are pinched in concern as she lifts Hope’s hands in front of her eyes, eager to inspect the skin there. “Are your hands okay? Did you cut them on the glass?”

Oh.

Maybe Josie is normal and Hope is the weird one who forgot what it’s like to be properly cared for, but her heart swells at the gesture. She can only shake her head slowly, in awe of how effortlessly affectionate and kind Josie is.

“You look stunning, by the way.” Hope breathes, unable to stop herself.

It clearly throws Josie off balance because she sputters, blinking so fast that her eyelashes remind Hope of a butterfly’s wings fluttering rapidly. A faint blush works its way up her cheeks, dusts over all of the concern on her features.

Hope eyes the pink blotches fondly. They’re close enough that Hope could probably steal a kiss or two.

“Thank you.” Josie replies distractedly. “But I’m more worried about you. How’d your mom react?”

“Actually, kind of okay. We didn’t really talk for too long but I don’t think she’s going to do anything.” Hope explains, her gaze trained on Josie’s gigantic, brown eyes.

Oh no. She’s dating Bambi.

“Really? That’s amazing.” Josie bites her lip thoughtfully for a fleeting second. It looks as if she is trying to decide something but before Hope can ask what, Josie’s expression smooths out.

A slightly troubling observation pops into Hope’s mind. Somehow, Jose acquired this power to put Hope into a trance whenever she pleases. Hope has felt it happen many times in the past and she feels it again now, as Josie lifts their joined hands an inch or two and lightly kisses the heart of Hope’s palm.

Josie might as well have cut open her chest and plucked Hope’s heart right out of her body. Hope obviously isn’t big on people owning other people, but damn it, it’s as if she’s pledged her soul to Josie Saltzman.

Hope gulps rather loudly, feeling her pulse pound beneath her skin.

“I should go.” Josie releases her with one more kiss to the other hand. “Everyone is probably wondering why we’re taking so long.”

She nods mutely and allows Josie to slip from her fingers. Hope wants to drag Josie back as soon as she lets her go, but she worries that her mom will assume that they are having sex in here. The door swings shut with a dull thump as Josie exits, leaving Hope alone.

Hope stares down at her freshly-kissed palms, a tiny smile set firmly on her mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw, part of Hope’s rant in the kitchen is from Glee. It seemed fitting.
> 
> Anyways, I have 2 surprises planned for Regionals. Any guesses on what they are?


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a filler but the next chapter will be longgg, also everyone pretend like New Orleans isn’t a 14 hour drive away

“I want to die.” Lizzie announces dramatically, all but using Josie as a pillow as she drapes herself over her sister. “It’s way too early.”

The only reason Josie doesn’t push Lizzie off of her is because she agrees. The drive to New Orleans is hours long, so everyone has to be here right after sunrise to leave in time. It’s still dark out, but Josie and Lizzie are the first ones here due to their dad’s excitement.

Not to say that Josie isn’t excited for Regionals, too - because she is - but she’s not sure if she’s enthusiastic enough to be standing in the school parking lot without a morning cup of coffee.

They stand around aimlessly for a solid ten minutes (it might as well be an eternity) when the rest of the club finally starts to show up. Parents drop off their kids, looking wary about leaving them in a dark parking lot with a random teacher, but leaving their kids all the same. Unsurprisingly, MG is one of the first to bound over to them.

“Hey.” He greets cheerily.

How does he have so much energy? Josie decides not to question it and instead nudges Lizzie into his arms, watching him sputter as she sleepily clings to him. They look like a couple, so easily curled around each other. Josie can’t believe that she started dating Hope and MG still hasn’t gotten around to confessing his love.

If Josie can go on a date with Hope and get through two family dinners, then surely MG can properly tell Lizzie he likes her.

“I forgot you guys are usually zombies until noon.” MG chuckles, though it comes slightly strained with how Lizzie has buried her face in his neck. “You should have gotten coffee or something.”

“I _know_.” Josie replies pointedly, glancing at her dad, who hadn’t let her make any before leaving.

Kaleb is the next one to show up. He nods at them in recognition but mainly focuses on the music playing from his earbuds. Maya and Ethan come in the same car (which is bizarre - Josie always forgets that they’re siblings). Penelope rolls in shortly after, followed by Dana.

Rafael arrives quietly and without a fuss, unlike Sebastian and Landon, who get there at the same time and swap glares for a ridiculously long amount of time.

It takes a second for Josie to remember that they are fighting after Hope. Landon still believes that Sebastian stole her from him and Sebastian is… protecting his girlfriend.

The thought leaves a bad taste in Josie’s mouth. Just thinking about Hope and Sebastian actually dating makes her a little sick, but she has to push past it. She went to dinner with Hope’s parents last night and kissed her in the bathroom. She’s done more than Sebastian will ever get to do.

The girl everyone is fighting over appears last. Josie watches as Hope steps out of the car with her bag slung over her shoulder. Hope looks as simple as everyone else in a plain pair of sweats and yet catches several eyes, mainly because she is juggling a ton of coffee.

Leave it to Hope to make a grand entrance.

Everyone cheers at seeing Hope (or more, at seeing the beverages) and rushes over to go help her carry everything since she has a cast on. _Helping_ quickly turns into snatching up the cups like vultures, but Josie understands the desperation.

She still waits her turn, eyeing the cardboard cup holder. Josie is just about to grab one when Hope taps her wrist discreetly and hands her a specific coffee. She accepts it eagerly, despite not knowing why Hope wants her to have that particular cup.

Josie would ask, but she doesn’t want to draw any attention to them, and Hope is immediately distracted by Sebastian picking her up to spin her.

“You’re the best, you know that?” Sebastian questions. A smile tugs at Hope’s mouth that is so close to her real one that it stings Josie’s stomach.

“You just like coffee.” Hope rolls her eyes, though she is clearly amused.

Just watching them turns the coffee to bile in Josie’s mouth. She swallows it reluctantly and forces herself to walk away, their words fading out but the echo of Hope’s laughter ringing in her ears. She wishes she wasn’t such a jealous person, but that green-eyed demon still lives in her head.

Thankfully, the bus arriving serves as a pretty good distraction.

Josie puts all of her attention on finding a spot inside the vehicle, since Lizzie has ditched her and decided to use MG as a blanket.

As Josie walks further down the aisle, she notices that Landon is staring at her expectantly. When she accidentally catches his eye, he gestures to the empty seat beside him.

Shit. Is it rude to just ignore him?

Josie doesn’t want to be mean, but the last time she spoke to him he tried to ask her out, and she doesn’t know how to reject people. It would be hard for her under normal circumstances, but now she can’t even think of a good excuse.

It makes no sense for her to openly have a crush on Landon one second and not want to be near him the next.

Before Josie can make a decision, someone nudges her into a seat. She lands beside Kaleb and sheepishly pulls herself upright as he looks at her, clearly startled. Once Josie finds her bearings she realizes that it was Hope who pushed her.

Everyone is watching their interaction, expecting a fight to happen, but Josie honestly is relieved that Hope got her out of that awkward situation.

Of course, to everyone else it looks as if Hope shoved her for the fun of it.

Josie shrinks away from their attention and Hope pretty much does the same, though she looks a lot more confident doing it. The prying eyes melt away as soon as Hope moves to the back of the bus and Josie points her body towards the window. She tries to savor the lingering warmth on her back, knowing that was probably the most physical contact she’ll get from Hope for days.

The warmth goes quickly, unlike the drive to Regionals. Hours pass in silence, spent with everyone either sleeping or tiredly staring into space. Josie falls in and out of consciousness until they come to their first stop.

When Josie feels the bus jolt, she wakes with a muted gasp and clutches wildly at her cup of coffee. She blinks hard, looking around at her peers who are already exiting the vehicle. Her eyes fall to her hands and, by extension, the beverage in them.

There, written on the side of the cup, is a message - _good luck with Faithfully._

Josie swipes her thumb over the familiar scrawl fondly, a smile lighting up her face as her eyes trace the words. Is this going to be Hope’s thing? A secret message every competition?

Kaleb clears his throat, obviously wanting to stand up and get out with the others. Josie scrambles to step into the aisle and give him room to leave. She feels a bit embarrassed about being so caught up in something as simple as a four word note, but if Kaleb noticed her trance then he certainly doesn’t mention it.

He looks her over carefully. “Are you going to get anything?”

Josie is confused for a moment until he nods out the window and she sees that they are parked at a gas station. Everyone is flooding into the store to get drinks and snacks. She didn’t get a chance to eat this morning, so it would probably be a good idea to buy something.

A small noise comes from behind them. Josie turns, thinking that someone smuggled a kitten onto the bus, only to see a very cute, very sleepy Hope curled up in the back.

“I’m okay.” Josie smiles and tries not to make it too obvious who she is staying for. “Thanks.”

Kaleb nods and leaves without question, which Josie is pretty grateful for. It seems like most people in her life don’t know when to butt out and when to step in. She would thank him, but that is an odd move to make, so Josie stays still until he is far away from the bus.

Once Josie is sure everyone else is piled in the gas station store or bathroom, she stretches and goes to join Hope in the back.

The windows on the bus are only in the front, so no one can look into the vehicle and see the way Hope twists to cling to her, still half-asleep and unassuming. Hope mewls and tugs at Josie’s hoodie. Her eyes are shut but her hands are searching and they pull Josie closer immediately, as if they already know to seek her out.

“Jo.” Hope murmurs. “Why aren’t you with the others?”

“Oh, well. If you want me to go…” Josie pretends to get up, making an exaggerated motion with her legs and barely moving an inch.

It doesn’t matter if she tries to move or not, because Hope frowns and drags her closer with a little too much force. Josie pretty much ends up in Hope’s lap, which is a problem because it would be much harder to get away if anyone were to come back to the bus.

She shifts away slightly, but Hope must be too tired to think clearly, because she only holds her tighter. Apparently, Josie isn’t thinking clearly either because she doesn’t protest as Hope does it.

“I’m really tired.” Hope says, nuzzling into Josie’s chest. The affection overtakes her, her body loosening up considerably at the sudden warmth. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Why?” Josie asks.

“Nightmares.” Hope admits after a beat, a small pinch in her expression as she speaks.

It’s strange, being with Hope like this. Josie has spent years feeling as if Hope is the strongest force in the universe and now it feels like Josie needs to protect her from the violence of the world. She seems ten times smaller, more vulnerable, as if she’s shrunk to fit perfectly in Josie’s arms.

It’s adorable and weird and a thousand other odd adjectives, but it doesn’t matter - Josie likes it. She likes how Hope acting this way satisfies the part of herself that aches to be needed.

Josie runs a hand through Hope’s hair, encouraged by the pleased noise Hope makes seconds later.

“I have to go. Lizzie probably wants me to pay for a breakfast burrito.” She looks ahead at the bus’ entrance.

Hope’s lips twitch down. “You’re leaving me for a gas station burrito?”

“No. Okay, kind of.” Josie spots Hope’s frown and brushes her thumb over it instead of kissing it away. They have a tendency to go too far. “I just don’t want them to come looking for me.”

With a great amount of reluctance, Hope releases her. Josie rolls her eyes at how dramatic Hope is being, but wordlessly gets back up on her feet. She takes a couple steps forward but pauses when she hears a rustling noise from behind her and turns to see Hope sitting up in the aisle.

“I thought you were tired.” Josie points out. She would be lying if she said it isn’t amusing to see Hope sway side to side for a moment, clearly too out of it to be standing up that fast.

“It wouldn’t be so bad.” Hope says, which only confuses Josie. She waits for Hope to clarify. “If Lizzie saw us, it would be… okay. She seems accepting.”

Surprise consumes Josie’s face and she nods, a little unsurely. “She is.”

Is Hope saying Josie can tell Lizzie? Josie opens her mouth to ask but is interrupted by someone getting on the bus. Thankfully, Josie is already a safe distance away from Hope and it’s just MG.

“Lizzie wants to know if you have money for breakfast burritos.” MG announces. His gaze slides to Hope and steels, suddenly protective. “Is everything okay?”

Josie nearly laughs at MG trying to be intimidating but contains it. She nudges him out of the bus, assuring him that everything is fine. She wonders what his plan was, because she’s pretty sure Hope would be able to body slam him with one arm, but says nothing.

They stay at the gas station long enough for all three of them to buy and eat the burritos (which are surprisingly not as bad as Josie expected), but then they are back on the bus.

During the last few hours of the ride, everyone is more energetic since they got a chance to nap earlier. All energy in a glee club gets morphed right into singing, and the remainder of their time on the bus is spent going through Rihanna’s greatest hits.

By the time they finally reach the motel, Josie has about seven different songs stuck in her head, all of which are fighting for attention in her brain. She’s humming a weird mix of them when she steps out of the bus and continues until she is standing in the lobby with everyone else.

“Stop humming.” Lizzie complains, setting her bag down at her feet. She stretches and several loud cracking sounds come from her body.

“That’s gross.” Josie says, mostly because being on a bus for hours has made her stroppy, but also because she hates the sound of bones cracking. “It’s like you’re eighty.

“Sorry, not all of us look nine.”

Both sisters are ready to bicker in the middle of the lobby, but Alaric comes through and gently pushes them apart. He doesn’t say much, but he shoots them both a look that has Lizzie huffing and Josie redirecting her eyes to the ground.

While her dad goes to talk to the lady behind the front desk, Josie roams around the motel lobby aimlessly. She notes that it’s nicer than the one they previously stayed at, but basically the same.

There are dusty chairs, hardwood floors, and a vending machine that most people in the room seem to be eyeing greedily. For some reason, Josie doesn’t feel very hungry. Maybe it’s due to the anxiety that comes with knowing they will be competing soon or maybe it’s because Hope is currently walking around in Sebastian’s letterman jacket.

Either way, Josie finds herself gravitating back to her sister’s side and awaiting Alaric’s room assignments.

“Okay, so. Little mix up.” Alaric says, coming back from the front desk with the room keys in hand.

“Little mix up?” Lizzie questions warily, glancing at Dana.

Sebastian raises a hand. “Please tell me all of the girls and guys are getting a room together.”

A chorus of disgusted groans come from the girls, Penelope going as far as to slap his chest hard enough to produce a loud thwacking sound. Maya giggles beside her and Hope laughs lightly, too, the edges of her eyes crinkling up in a way that is entirely too adorable.

Josie looks away before she can be caught staring, but the glimpse she gets warms her heart a little.

“No. All the guys are going in one room and all the girls are going in another.” Alaric explains. He avoids their eyes when he says the next part, barely speaking it loudly enough to be heard. “I’ll have my own.”

Since Josie and Lizzie are the closest, they hear him, despite the bad attempt to cloud his speech. Josie doesn’t like the idea of being stuck in an overcrowded room for days, especially with Dana, and Lizzie seems to be on the same page.

“Can’t we room with you, Dad?” Lizzie asks, Josie nodding beside her.

“I can’t sleep in the same motel room as a student. It would be unethical.”

Josie and Lizzie share a glance. A strong rush of twin-emotion runs through the both of them and they take several synchronized steps forward, beginning to speak in unison. “But we’re your daughters.”

“Not for the next…” He holds his wrist to his eyes, checking his watch. “Twenty-six hours. You have to enjoy the room sharing experience. It’s important.”

Alaric sets the keys on a nearby table and backs up enough that everyone can grab them. The boys get their keys without a fuss. All the drama lies with the girls. Josie hesitates for a small moment, thinking up ways to guilt her dad into giving up the second bed in his room, but ultimately decides not to argue.

She scoops up one of the keys reluctantly and takes another for Lizzie when she notices her sister just standing around.

“We’ve been abandoned.” Lizzie exclaims.

“It’s not the first time.” Josie tosses the second key to Lizzie and grabs her bag.

Lizzie seems content to stand around and glare, but Josie wants to get dibs on a bed. She could very easily be forced to sleep on the floor for the rest of the trip. Worse, she could end up sleeping next to Dana because Lizzie is close to a tantrum and won’t move.

Josie grabs Lizzie’s arm and hauls her ass out of the lobby. She checks the room number on the way there, though it’s relatively easy to find since they are right next to the boys.

And their dad.

“I can’t believe you’re making me share a room with Dana.” Lizzie says loudly as they pass Alaric. Josie shoves Lizzie through the doorway and rushes to claim one of the beds.

Once her mission to get a bed is done, Josie relaxes a fraction more and looks around the room. It seems smaller this time, but that could be due to the fact that there are now six girls inside instead of four. It also doesn’t help that two of the girls are already arguing.

Penelope, Hope, and Maya all seem relatively fine with squeezing into one bed. Lizzie and Dana, on the other hand...

“Nope, we’re not sharing a bed.” Dana states haughtily, barely past the doorway and already complaining.

Lizzie nods in agreement. “Of course not. You can sleep on the floor, I already claimed that one.”

Slight heat rises to Josie’s face as Lizzie points at her proudly, calling all of the attention in the room to her for a split second. Josie tugs one of the pillows into her lap, just to distract herself. She hates being pulled into Lizzie’s arguments.

“No.” Dana shakes her head. “Josie claimed that one.”

“Same thing!”

Dana crosses her arms at the exact same time Lizzie throws up her hands, and somewhere on the other side of the room Penelope groans in exasperation. Josie says nothing, but she feels the same way.

This is going to be a long trip.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear god this chapter is long

Josie wrings her hands nervously as she stares at the stage, watching one of the clubs work through its performance. She straightens out her golden dress for the fifth time in the last ten minutes.

The New Directions have already finished, so Josie is left to stand around and worry until they all get called up to hear the results. Everyone else is either sitting backstage or hidden in the crowd, but Josie can’t calm herself down enough to rest with the others.

A hand reaches out and grabs her suddenly, stopping her from pacing along the aisle. Josie nearly shrieks in fear of being kidnapped, but then she realizes that it’s Jade ushering her into an empty seat. She sits, but peers around worriedly, not wanting her team to see her talking to the enemy and not wanting Hope to see her talking to Jade at all.

“Hey, beautiful.” Jade greets, kicking up her feet, much to the displeasure of the person in front of her. She doesn’t seem to care about that person or anyone else, and continues to ignore the annoyed glances of Vocal Adrenaline. “Why are you here alone? Where’s the New Dickections?”

“ _Directions,_ and stop flirting.” Josie corrects. She shrugs off Jade’s arm, which was creeping suspiciously close to her shoulders.

Jade rolls her eyes but pointedly places her hands in her lap. It seems as if Jade is flirting just to flirt, which Josie supposes she’s okay with, as long as no one actually makes a move on her tonight - well, except for Hope.

She certainly wouldn’t mind Hope making a move. Where is Hope, anyways?

“Did you come here to talk or…?” Jade trails off, raising a lone eyebrow.

Josie scoffs. _“You_ grabbed _me.”_

“You were pacing, it was weird.” Jade shrugs and flexes her fingers while she does it. She repeats the action a couple times, her hands flicking to the side like she might reach out and touch Josie, but she never does. “Are you nervous or something?”

Despite Jade’s steady tone and passive face, her thumbs continue to twitch just a little. Hmm. Josie knows an anxious tick when she sees it, mostly because she’s chock-full of them.

“Are _you?_ You’re being extra touchy.” She points out. It feels good to have the upper hand against someone who she fears vocally.

For a fraction of a second, Jade looks thrown off, but it’s fleeting and soon she settles her palms against her knees. “Maybe I just want to touch you.”

“Stop it. I’ll leave.” Josie threatens, blushing despite herself.

“Sorry, sorry. I forgot that you’re in love. How’s that going, by the way?” Jade questions, actually seeming genuine.

Slowly, Josie lowers her defenses. They were never really there to begin with. After the whole Halloween party debacle, Jade is strangely the only person Josie can talk to about Hope, unless she wants to sit through an incredibly awkward conversation with Hayley.

There is no way in hell that’s happening.

“Good. She…” Josie sucks her lower lip into her mouth momentarily, accidentally cleaning all of the gloss off. “She makes me really happy.”

“That’s so cute. I love it.” Jade claps her hands together excitedly like a common schoolgirl.

It makes Josie laugh, seeing how genuine and happy Jade seems to be when she isn’t busy trying to get into someone’s pants. They chat for a minute more about nothing important, but their conversation is cut short by the announcer instructing all of the clubs to come on stage.

“Duty calls.” Jade winks at her as she stands, moving simultaneously with the rest of Vocal Adrenaline.

The whole thing is horror movie levels of creepy, but Josie can’t complain. She has twin pain sometimes and occasionally speaks in unison with Lizzie. Josie has no right to go around telling people that it’s weird to do things at the same time, especially when they look sort of cool doing it.

Damn it.

Why do they always look so awesome?

Josie gets up to find the other members. Her search only lasts for a short amount of time, as everyone heard the announcer and has moved to gather on stage. She steps into the empty slot beside Lizzie and tries to look presentable, or at least hide the fact that she worked up a bit of a sweat while pacing earlier.

Thankfully, no one is paying attention to her at all - except maybe Caroline, who appears to be snapping pictures in the front row.

They better not lose. It would be so humiliating to have pictures of their loss.

Another team wins fourth place, meaning that they’ll at least get to leave here with a trophy. Josie crosses her fingers in hopes that they’ll get second. She knows that beating Vocal Adrenaline is a long shot, but if they get second then they can move on to Nationals.

Josie bounces on her feet anxiously while the announcer… well, _announces_ who got what spot in a loud, dramatic voice.

“And in second place we have Mystic Falls High’s New Directions.”

Lizzie jumps once in excitement and the boys begin doing some sort of odd bro-hug, with the exception of MG, who looks as if he might cry out of happiness. Josie wraps her arm around his shoulders and squeals when he promptly lifts her into the air and spins her. She always forgets he has a newly found strength from football.

“Okay, okay.” Josie giggles and shoves at his shoulders uselessly. He only holds her tighter. “You can put me down now.”

MG places her near the edge of the crowd and goes to bother Kaleb about who gets to hold their trophy. It works out well for Josie, since everyone is exiting the stage in a rush of victory (and defeat, for the two teams that came in third and fourth place) and she nearly gets run over in the stampede.

Josie chuckles at everyone’s cheery mood. It’s infectious. The happiness spreads through her like a piece of paper soaking up water.

It becomes noisy backstage in no time. Loud chatter booms in the space behind the curtains, coming from the rowdy teenagers. Somehow, Hope’s laughter pierces through the roaring of the group, defying how sound works as her voice leeks into Josie’s ears.

What impossible act will Hope do next? First she defied gravity (there’s a Wicked joke in there somewhere) and now sound. It’s like Josie is dating a superhero.

Caroline and Alaric are waiting for them out front, in the lobby of the theater. Lizzie all but drags Josie towards them and they group-hug while Alaric grumbles something jokingly about being suffocated by too much perfume.

“Do you guys have plans?” Caroline asks, a hand on each twin’s shoulder, squeezing equally. “We could get dinner if you’re up for it.”

Josie’s stomach feels a little empty. “Yeah, we could-“

“We actually have a post-show tradition.” Lizzie cuts her off, not only using words but the edge of her very, very sharp elbow in Josie’s stomach.

Josie bites back a groan at being assaulted for absolutely no reason and glares at her sister. As the words register in her head, her eyebrows pull tightly together in confusion. _Post-show tradition?_ Josie eyes Lizzie curiously, but the only response she gets is a quick, mischievous glance.

Turns out, that’s really all Josie needs to put two and two together. She can’t believe that getting drunk in a motel is becoming an official Glee Club tradition.

Well. They are teenagers. Isn’t it in their DNA to be somewhat reckless and stupid?

“Yep.” Josie nods and smiles unconvincingly. She’s a horrible liar. “Very important post-show tradition. Extremely important.”

Caroline’s head bobs rather slowly - probably because she is wondering whether or not Josie is having a stroke. “Okay… well, we’ll do something when we get back to town. Your dad and I are going to grab dinner right now, though.”

The rational part of Josie’s brain tells her to join her dad and Caroline, instructs her to fill her stomach with a proper meal instead of alcohol. She is about to make the right choice, when she hears Hope’s laughter boom behind her again, as if indirectly begging her to stay.

It puts Josie in a trance. She finds herself momentarily stunned, as if she’s never heard Hope’s voice before, and when she blinks out of her stupor Caroline and Alaric are heading away from them.

Decision made.

“Come on, let’s go get MG.” Lizzie laces her arm through Josie’s and tugs her along. “He has bourbon.”

“The gross kind from his dad?” Josie asks, flashing back to that time in freshman year they all got drunk and she spent most of the night throwing up.

It wasn’t _her_ fault that MG’s alcohol tasted shitty. Though, it was probably her fault that she stained his grandma’s couch.

“Hopefully not.”

Josie has no idea how MG managed to sneak anything past his parents, considering when they find him and step out of the theater he flails clumsily down the stairs. Fortunately, MG’s awkward motions don’t end in him falling on the sidewalk, since Lizzie catches him before he can slam into the curb.

They stare at each other for a second too long. It feels oddly intimate, like Josie is intruding. She is totally going to be third-wheeling all night.

She wants Hope here.

“Are you guys going back to the motel?” Maya asks, appearing out of nowhere with Penelope and Hope at her side. Wish granted.

“Yeah.” Josie nods.

Penelope takes out her phone and starts texting someone, probably the rest of the club. Josie figures they should wait, since getting drunk alone is a little sad, and so they do. That’s how Josie ends up sandwiched between the Cheerios once again, skating on the edge of their world but not really entering it.

MG and Lizzie sit nearby, content with having their own conversation and leaving Josie with the cheerleaders.

Whatever. It’s fine. Josie is the one who’s been keeping things about her life private, they can do the same. Besides, they look cute together and it’s making Josie feel like a proud mom.

Would it be weird to snap a picture?

Yes, it would, but Josie is going to do it anyways for Caroline’s sake.

Josie pulls out her phone. She gets two good shots of them before MG starts flipping her off and Lizzie shields her face, acting as if Josie is the paparazzi. Josie laughs and puts the device back into her pocket - which isn’t really a pocket at all, since she’s wearing a dress.

The pocket is her bra. Josie struggles to nestle the phone between the cup of it and her breast for a moment, but she gets it done.

Hope swallows audibly beside her. “Are they dating?”

Hope gestures to Lizzie and MG. Her cheeks are a little flushed, the tip of her nose rosy. The air is just crisp enough to turn Josie’s fingertips cold. She wishes she had a jacket to offer Hope.

“No.” Josie shifts closer to Hope very, very subtly, trying to give the girl a bit more warmth. “But I’m planning their wedding.”

Penelope laughs unexpectedly. “You and your sister are exactly the same.”

Josie doesn’t know how Penelope would know anything about what Lizzie is like, but she supposes it makes a little sense. They _did_ get paired up for two duets in a row, there had to be some conversation.

The boys finally exit the theater in a pack. They have Kaleb propped up on their shoulders, riding high amongst the others. He deserves to, after he hit those high notes during their performance. They drop him at the bottom of the stairs while Dana trails behind them all, looking pretty bored.

Josie is glad that they can leave now. Not that she hadn’t been having fun sitting around, but the show and her previous pacing has made her a little tired.

Plus, it’s cold.

Cold enough that Hope shivers and ends up under Sebastian’s arm in no time.

Josie directs her attention elsewhere. Her bones feel too heavy in her body, like maybe they shouldn’t be there at all. It gets hard to walk and she accidentally slows to a trudge behind the group, which puts her beside Landon.

Honestly, being around Landon is like stepping into the Twilight Zone. Her whole perception of him has shifted drastically, to the point that she has no idea if she should view him as a popular football player or a bumbling idiot.

Will he speak to her confidentially, with that pinch of arrogance Sebastian is so fond of?

Will he trip over himself and make an awkward attempt at asking her out again?

What comes is something in-between.

“Hey, Josie.” Landon greets, voice a tad strained. She looks from left to right for an escape, noticing that everyone else is occupied with a conversation.

“Hey.”

Talking to him makes her slightly uncomfortable, on account of the fact that he announced that they are going to prom together without even asking her first. Before, she might have found it attractive that he could be that cocky, but now it grates on her nerves a little.

Her former crush on him seems out of place, a distant memory that, in reality, isn’t very distant. It wasn’t so long ago, possibly a month or two.

Funny how things change.

Everything Landon is seems hollow, because he’s always two steps behind Hope.

Literally. Hope is right in front of them.

“You were really great up there.” Landon says, his breath trembling along the compliment. She wonders if he’s nervous and tries not to let that inflate her ego. “As always.”

It seems he’s being genuine, so Josie nods and smiles thinly. “Thank you.”

The next couple minutes go quietly. Josie listens to the mindless chatter of her friends, discussing inconsequential things. Every time Hope giggles at one of Sebastian’s lame jokes or ruffles his hair fondly, Josie’s fingers tingle to the point of numbness, her blood flow stopping altogether.

But.

Things are okay. Josie knows Hope well enough to know her laughter is a tad too high-pitched, so it’s probably a little forced, and she notices tiny details about their interaction, like how Hope wipes her palm on her dress after touching his gelled hair.

Besides, Josie is spending her time with another brunette boy, anyways - though his conversation skills are lacking.

Landon barely says anything for the whole walk. He only speaks once they reach the motel, ten minutes later, and when he does it seems as if he’s stepped much closer than before.

“We should talk.” Landon suggests gravely. The grim tone of his voice throws her off. Josie’s eyebrows raise on their own accord.

“Now?” Josie questions suspiciously.

Her gaze travels to the left, where everyone is currently climbing the stairs to their rooms. It feels weird to drift off from the group.

“No.” He responds and straightens his golden tie, which really takes the drama out of the situation since a few sparkles stick to his palm. “Later.”

Josie nods in agreement, but she feels timid and unsure about this entire interaction. Why does he want to talk to her so bad? Is she going to be dragged into some sort of grand prom proposal that ends with an exploding glitter bomb and flowers? So many possibilities.

Anxious to just get it over with, Josie considers pulling him aside right now.

Her idea dies as soon as it comes, losing its breath the second Josie spots Hope lingering behind everyone else. It sort of looks as if Hope is simply antisocial, but Josie knows better. She sees how Hope is poised over the railing, like a hawk ready to pounce on its prey.

No. More like a wolf - fiercely protective.

It feels a little territorial, but Josie appreciates the sentiment. She never thought she would see the day Hope would wait around to protect her from Landon Kirby, of all people.

“Okay, well. I’m going to go.” Josie pries her gaze away from Hope and Landon, fixing it on a safe spot on the ground.

As soon as Josie is relatively far away from Landon and halfway up the stairs, Hope disappears into the boys room. Josie follows after her - after everyone, really. The whole club is piled on top of two beds, just the same as before.

Except, it’s not the same as before.

“Josie.” Maya calls her forward with two crooked fingers. “Come sit.”

Josie peers around uncertainly at the offer, but MG is on the other side of the room with Sebastian and a bottle of whiskey, and Lizzie is propped up on her palms next to Penelope.

Strange.

She sits down, accepting the odd direction her life is taking her in. The beds are split by gender this time, so it makes sense that she was called over. Still, the way Maya smiles at her is genial and open. Her intentions appear to be entirely pure.

“Your hair is really pretty.” Maya says out of the blue.

If Bonnie were here, she would say that Maya’s aura is bizarre but bright and orange, fiery yet comforting. Josie just thinks the other girl is friendly.

“Thanks.” She murmurs hesitantly.

“It would look _so_ good in a braid.” Maya continues. Penelope watches the interaction and suddenly smirks like she’s figured out a secret, stretching back on the bed while Maya talks. “Don’t you think it would look nice, Hope?”

Hope’s lips part once and sew themselves closed. If Hope were more of an open book then maybe someone would be able to read her expression. Unfortunately, she tends to wipe it blank whenever faced with too much attention.

“I guess.” Hope replies noncommittally.

Maya claps her hands together. “Good. You can braid it, then.”

Josie pinks at the suggestion. She likes that idea very much (and so does Hope, if the way her eyes widen is anything to go by), but she doubts Hope will agree to it.

“What?” Hope frowns, predictably. “Why me?”

“You have stronger fingers.” Maya shrugs, as if this is a normal thing to say, and Hope blushes lightly while Josie turns bright red instantly.

That’s a visual Josie will never get out of her head.

Hope sputters soundlessly, her mouth moving but her words not. She does a good job of hiding it, but it’s clear that she’s flustered when Maya tosses a black hair tie in her direction.

“Okay, not true.” Penelope half-mumbles, eyes on her own fingers. She genuinely looks a little offended until Maya swats at her leg, and then she overdramatically grabs her thigh. “Hey, violence is never the answer.”

“Except for when it is.” Maya counters easily.

Hope is still sputtering. “Wait. I have a cast on. How am I supposed to braid with one hand?”

“I’m sure you can do it.” Maya assures her and smiles softly, probably to distract from the fact that it seems as if she’s manipulating Hope. “You’re head Cheerio. You’ve got skills.”

Somehow, Maya and Penelope end up cuddling in the blink of an eye. Somehow, no one seems to care or notice.

Josie envies that, in an odd way. Most girls she knows are so naturally touchy that it doesn’t matter if they straight up make out, people will still call them friends. Normally that would annoy Josie, but not when she’s watching two girls hold each other casually while she sits around, wishing she could reach out and touch Hope.

Brown eyes nervously meet blue. Hope stares thoughtfully at her for a moment before patting the space between her thighs.

Oh.

Yeah, okay.

Josie crawls between Hope’s legs - _Jesus_ _Christ_ \- and faces away from her so Hope can get to her hair. She sits tensely for a moment, but soon feels comfortable enough to lean back.

Warmth greets her instantly. Hope’s legs stand as a strong shield against the world and yet they are so, so soft, like Josie could sink right into them. Maybe that’s just her lust-riddled brain talking. She tries to relax and point her mind to other things, like how Lizzie is drunk enough to be civil with Dana.

Landon enters the room, looks at them once, and heads to the other side to steal a drink from the bottle.

Isn’t it so interesting how alcohol can change a person and make them act-

“You okay?” Hope asks. She cuts through Josie’s thoughts easily, which isn’t a surprise since she is literally surrounding her. “You seem tense.”

That’s because she _is_.

Josie wants nothing more than to kiss Hope and the act of resisting has pulled her shoulders taut, so her whole back is unnecessarily straightened.

At hearing Hope’s blatant concern, Josie scans the room and notes that no one is really paying attention to them. Of course, they would be if Josie were to turn around and kiss Hope the way she wants to, but she guesses a few whispers and hidden touches won’t go noticed.

Besides, everyone probably assumes they’re at least a little tipsy.

“I am.” Josie guides Hope’s hand closer to her, towards her rigid shoulders, towards her hair, since Hope is supposed to be braiding it.

Hope pauses briefly but Josie soon feels fingers carding through her hair, shifting it all into more manageable sections.

“We should watch a movie.” Rafael suggests. He turns on the television to flip through channels.

“Yes. Yes.” Ethan cheers childishly, the bottle resting in his lap. “Polar Express.”

Everyone comes to an agreement on that pretty quickly. Someone gets up to turn off the lights while Rafael clicks on the movie and blasts the volume loudly enough that anyone trying to have a conversation soon gives up.

Perfect.

In the safety of the dark, Josie relaxes. The stiffness of her muscles disappears, her bones going to jelly as Hope’s fingertips scrape along her scalp.

She leans back more, almost unconsciously, and Hope squirms. Josie tilts herself with a bit more purpose, smug until Hope flicks her neck. She smiles secretly to herself and imagines the pretty tint of pink on her girlfriend’s cheeks.

Josie decides to be nice and stays still for the first half of the movie. This allows Hope to get done with braiding pretty much all of Josie’s hair, which means she’ll have no excuse to touch her. They both seem to realize that at the same time.

Hope’s ministrations slow considerably, almost so her hand doesn’t move at all. She plays with the ends of Josie’s hair, obviously reluctant to remove herself from the situation.

Would it be too much to get Hope to rub her shoulders?

Yes, probably.

Still, when Josie feels the slight pressure of Hope’s touch against the nape of her neck, she can’t help but lean into it. Hope pulls away and Josie can feel _nothing_ for a second, but then-

A pause.

A moment, where Hope inhales audibly, just enough to be heard by Josie and only Josie, and then there is a hand diligently massaging her neck.

The knots in Josie’s body unravel, every inch of her loosening. She slumps against Hope, her bones melting away in the blink of an eye. It feels as if she has no choice but to surrender to Hope, which she does gladly.

Minutes pass, maybe hours. Josie begins to only catch glimpses of the movie and the elves on screen. Her eyes grow heavy-lidded, dragging her further into the darkness until she can’t see the Christmas film playing at all.

—————

Josie wakes up to a dark figure standing over her.

She panics and squirms away, only to be pinned down to the bed seconds later. It’s oddly similar to what happened at Sectionals, especially when the figure leans in enough that Josie can see the details of her face.

Hope.

Hope, who raises an unimpressed eyebrow like she is scolding Josie for freaking out over possibly being kidnapped.

Josie is dragged off of the bed and stumbles onto the floor, nearly stepping on Dana. Hope spins around and holds a finger to her lips, silently instructing Josie to be quiet, before leading her to the door. They move soundlessly across the room, narrowly avoiding the sleeping teenagers, and are outside within a minute.

The air is much colder than before. It whips at Josie aggressively, causing her to wrap her arms around herself. Josie doesn’t think she’s fully awake.

This could be a dream.

Signs of sleep are still surrounding her. When she licks her lips, she tastes something bitter on her tongue that usually only rests there during the morning. It takes more effort than usual to blink, as if her eyelids are crusted shut, and her vision is blurry enough that Hope’s body reminds her of a grainy video game character.

“What are we doing?” Josie pouts slightly as she lets out a small yawn.

“It’s a secret.” Hope instructs and nudges her towards the girls’ room. “Go get dressed.”

Only then does Josie notice how Hope has changed out of her previous outfit, now wearing a pair of dark jeans and a tight-fitting top. Her sleepy eyes take control, just to eat up this image of Hope hungrily.

It’s rare to see Hope out of her uniform.

“Why? Where are we going?” Josie rubs her eyes. They hiss in protest, stinging mildly.

“Again, it’s a secret.” Hope repeats.

What time is it?

Josie inspects the sky as soon as the thought pops into her head. It’s certainly dark out, but the world is still alive around them. Josie can hear faint music playing from far away, the city calling for her to come explore it. She just thought that they would do it tomorrow, during the day.

Seriously, this is ridiculous. It’s cold out and the air is actually a little damp. It might rain.

Josie doesn’t want to go anywhere at all, unless that place is a bed. She supposes Hope could come with her there, too…

_No._

Jesus, she is barely five minutes into consciousness and already thinking of asking Hope to come to bed with her.

The point is that they can’t go. Even if it doesn’t rain and the weather is perfect, it’s still pitch black out and they’re two defenseless, teenage girls. It’s dangerous. What if they actually get kidnapped? What if her dad comes searching for them and finds them missing?

He’d call the cops, they’d get in trouble, and the whole thing would be horribly embarrassing.

“Come on, don’t you trust me?” Hope questions, mostly teasing, like she’s almost reciting a line from Aladdin, but there is something under that, too - something desperate.

Josie nods hesitantly. “Yeah. Of course I do.”

Remembering Hope’s words from seconds ago, Josie moves over to the door of their motel room and cracks it open. She expects to see at least one of the other girls inside, but all of them must be sleeping in the boys’ room, because it’s empty.

She walks over to her bag, which she left on the floor, and sorts through it. Hope follows her into the room and stands nearby. It doesn’t take long for Josie to pick out something to wear, considering she packed a total of three outfits.

Her clothing for the performance, baggy sweats for the bus ride here and back, and a nice dress just in case Caroline decided to take them somewhere.

It’s a good thing she brought it.

Josie reaches for her zipper uselessly, realizing that she can’t reach it relatively fast. She tries and fails to grab it twice before remembering that she has a girlfriend to help with this type of thing.

“Hope?” She calls, not bothering to turn around. “Can you help with-“

Josie giggles, mid-sentence, when Hope rushes over to comply. Hope’s eagerness to get her clothes off is more amusing than hot in this instance, and Josie can’t help but continue to chuckle lightly into her palm.

“Stop.” Hope drawls, embarrassed.

“Sorry. Sorry.” Josie says and fails to sound apologetic. “You’re kind of like a teenage boy.”

“I’m better than a teenage boy.” She grumbles in response, and if Josie has a comeback it dies as Hope finally gets around to pulling the zipper down.

Electricity sparks where Hope’s fingertips skim her skin. Hope is all polite and respectful, barely touching her, yet Josie nearly bites through her own tongue in her effort to keep her thoughts pure. She doesn’t want Hope to think she’s some pervert who can’t control herself.

“I know you are.” Josie breathes.

All of this brings Josie back to the many times Hope gingerly touched her, before they were dating. Back then, Josie had thought that Hope was recoiling due to disgust, but maybe it had been out of an attempt to respect Josie’s space and body.

God, Hope is hard to read sometimes.

Hope steps away eventually, lingering around for a fraction of a second.

Momentarily, Josie thinks about asking Hope to turn around. She decides that’s pointless. It’s not like she is going to get completely naked to change and Hope has seen her in her underwear multiple times before.

Their relationship is a little weird, isn’t it?

Josie pushes the dress off of her shoulders and allows it to pool on the ground. She swears she hears Hope release a muted gasp behind her, but when she turns to check Hope is planted on the edge of the bed innocently. Josie stares at her for a moment, noticing how Hope’s face reddens with every glance she steals.

She resists the urge to giggle or comment on it, because that would only embarrass Hope further, and gets dressed.

Once Josie is done, she clears her throat in an attempt to get Hope to look at her. She doesn’t.

“Hope?”

“You look nice.” Hope compliments, head still pointed towards the floor.

Josie approaches her slowly. “You’re not even looking at me.”

Hope shrugs once, bashful. Only the top of her head is in view, but Josie imagines that Hope’s cheeks hold a gentle flush to them.

“I don’t have to. You always look nice.” She admits, and it’s so sweet that Josie can’t resist running her fingers through Hope’s hair. Hope’s eyes flutter shut as she leans into it, as if she is unable to stop herself.

Josie gets it.

She spent about an hour of the night having Hope play with her hair, so of course she gets it.

Would it be wrong to just not go out at all? That would probably be the right decision, actually, since they’re planning to ditch a school field trip to roam around New Orleans alone.

“You’re such a sap.” Josie teases, resisting the urge to crawl into Hope’s lap and kiss her senseless.

Her resolve is quickly being brought down. She decides she should probably take her hand out of Hope’s hair and does just that, albeit minutes later.

Okay, so Josie has gotten a little desperate.

It’s fine.

She can deal with it.

They go outside, moving equally as quietly as before, and tiptoe down the stairs. A light drizzle hits Josie’s head almost as soon as they step out from under the motel’s coverage.

Great.

“Hope, it’s raining.” Josie complains, pouting without even realizing it.

Hope merely taps the side of her mouth, brushing her finger there for a split second, like a kiss. “It’s barely drizzling.”

“Maybe you just can’t feel it ‘cause you’re lower to the ground.” She holds out her hand and feels two small drops collect right on the center of her palm.

“ _Hey._ No short jokes.”

Josie laughs freely at the exaggerated frown on Hope’s face. She can’t help it. Seconds later, Hope grins, too, but for a different reason than Josie’s.

It takes Josie by total surprise when Hope leaps up on her back, but she manages to catch her. She hooks her arms around Hope’s legs and starts walking again, this time with a lot more effort than before.

“I don’t even know where we’re going.” Josie says, once they reach the end of the block. “I guess you’ll just have to tell me.”

“Nope. Turn left.”

To the left, the street stretches on aimlessly for a couple more blocks. If Josie squints, she can see the first few buildings in town - restaurants and bars, mostly.

They mess around while they walk, Hope telling jokes while Josie occasionally jostles her and threatens to drop her on her ass. Of course, Josie never does. At the end of the journey, she sets Hope down on the sidewalk quite carefully, ignoring her claims to do otherwise.

“Now what?” Josie watches Hope expectantly, feeling a little winded.

“I think we’re about another block away.” Hope raises herself onto her tippy toes to see. “Come on.”

“A block away from what?”

No answer.

Josie trails along beside Hope. She tries to pout about being ignored, but that lasts for all of two seconds before she gets distracted by the sight of the city.

It isn’t as crowded as she would guess, but it _is_ the middle of the night. Or is it? Josie forgot to check the time before they left. Midnight could have not come yet, for all she knows.

Everything they pass looks interesting. Josie can’t tell if it’s because she is used to boring Mystic Falls or if New Orleans is actually really exciting, but she doesn’t care. She likes it here. The city and the people here seem more alive than back home, and it fills Josie with enthusiasm.

Enough enthusiasm that Josie begins to skip down the sidewalk.

Hope watches her with a fond smile, though she doesn’t start skipping herself. Josie pauses once she notices Hope’s expression.

“What?”

“You’re cute.” Hope says simply. Josie blushes, both flattered and startled by Hope’s honesty.

Usually, Hope doesn’t compliment her in public. She wonders what has made Hope so comfortable, but then Hope stills her and points at something nearby that explains it all.

Josie blinks.

Stares.

Blinks again.

Did Hope Mikaelson just bring her to a gay club?

Yes, that’s what it looks like. _Scandals_ appears to very clearly be a gay club, if the bright rainbow lights and line of shirtless men and openly touchy women outside are any indication.

“Hope…” Josie begins, forgetting what to say in an instant. She tries to find the words. They don’t come. This can’t even be a dream, because Josie has never thought about this scenario happening - it seemed impossible. “You know we can’t get in, right? I look like I’m ten.”

“Trust me.” Hope says, and then proceeds to _actually_ drag her into the line for the club.

The gay club. The gay club, that Hope brought her to willingly. Josie pinches her arm and winces at the slight pain.

Is this really happening?

Josie looks at Hope, who seems to be scheming. What’s her plan? Even if Hope actually wants to go in here, they’re seventeen and Josie doesn’t have a fake I.D.

She has so, so many questions, but she settles on one. “How did you find this place?”

“I saw it when we drove in.” Hope explains, all casual, like the rainbow lights aren’t illuminating color across her face. “Then, I did some Googling while you were asleep.”

“That makes sense.” Josie nods, even though it really doesn’t make sense at all.

She almost feels as if she should inform Hope that people are openly gay in there, because it’s entirely possible that Hope doesn’t know. No, that’s ridiculous. Sometimes Hope is clueless, but it’s not like anyone is hiding their sexuality here.

Josie wants to ask more questions but something tells her not to. She doesn’t want to pry too much.

As much as she had protested about leaving the motel, this is a better outing (no pun intended) than she could have imagined. If people are being openly gay in there, then that means they can be open, too. As in, Josie can kiss Hope in front of people like she has wanted to for months now.

Still, they aren’t going to get in.

Again, Josie’s face resembles a baby’s. As for Hope, she could probably pass, as long as she doesn’t smile. Once someone gets a look at those puffy cheeks, all bets are off.

Hope seems pretty convinced about getting in. Josie eyes her curiously for a while. They get close to the front of the line and she decides she needs to start asking questions.

Right when she opens up her mouth to figure out what Hope is planning, Hope casually strikes up a conversation with the group of girls in front of them.

It’s almost bizarre how friendly Hope is acting, smiling amiably and making the girls laugh with her jokes.

Is this why Hope is so popular?

The girls appear to be older than them and a lot more comfortable in themselves than Josie is. Thankfully, Hope pulls Josie along by her arm, until they are standing right in the throng of women. Hope continues to smoothly carry on speaking without pause.

Since the women are clearly of age, the bouncer waves them all inside without even noticing Hope and Josie in the middle.

Once they’re in, Hope says goodbye to the ladies and waves at them as they part ways. Josie turns to her, standing in stunned silence. Despite Josie being quiet, nothing around her is. The music inside is pumping loudly, as expected, and it only serves to remind her of how Hope just sneaked them in.

“There is no way that just worked.” Josie says eventually. Maybe Hope laughs - she can’t tell, it’s way too hard to hear in here.

“I’ve done it before at other places, with Penelope and Maya.” Hope explains, grabbing Josie’s wrist and pulling her aside so they aren’t standing right in front of the entrance. “Usually I get Maya to flirt with the bouncer, but…”

“But?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t want to watch you flirt with some old guy.” Hope shrugs, as if it isn’t a big deal and she didn’t just openly declare her jealousy.

Josie’s head is spinning.

“You could have flirted with him yourself.” She points out.

Hope shakes her head. “I’m tired of flirting with men.”

That makes Josie’s lips tilt up at the edges, since she doesn’t fall under the male category. She turns her head swiftly to look around. It’s just as she imagined a club would be - flashing lights, pounding music, the smell of sweat and alcohol hovering in the air.

Also, there are two guys kissing in the corner.

She really needs to wrap her mind around the fact that she’s here with _Hope_.

Josie also needs to remember that she isn’t here with Hope Mikaelson, homophobe extraordinaire. She’s here with Hope Mikaelson, her girlfriend, who is currently lacing their fingers together.

“You want to dance?” Hope offers and Josie shakes her head after a moment of consideration, still staring at their joined hands.

Why is she more stunned by this than Hope?

“I can’t dance.” Normally the admission would embarrass her, but her focus is on other things, like how close Hope is standing.

They must look like girlfriends. They _are_ girlfriends. This may be the best day of Josie’s young life.

“You danced on stage earlier.” Hope points out.

“Yeah, but that was choreographed. We practiced first. I can’t, like…” Josie glances at the crowd and lowers her voice a bit, though it’s a little humiliating that she’ll have to yell the next few words due to the volume of the music. “Sexy dance.”

Hope makes a strained face, obviously trying very hard not to laugh. “Sexy dance?”

“Stop, don’t tease.” Josie pouts. “I’ll ditch you.”

Of course she doesn’t mean it (nothing could make her leave this club, aside from her father and the police), but Hope wraps her arms around Josie’s waist anyways.

Josie is about to protest - she really has no rhythm at all and will probably embarrass herself - but then Hope leans up and kisses her, and every part of Josie’s body forgets to function, except for her lips.

They stand there for a while, just kissing.

At least, Josie thinks that they’re only standing, but when she finally pulls away for air, they have moved a decent amount and are now in the middle of the crowd.

Since Josie is still reeling from the feel of Hope’s mouth, she doesn’t see how Hope glances around to make sure no one _really_ cares about what they’re doing. What Josie _does_ see is the glint of mischief in Hope’s eyes right before she plants one, solid kiss under Josie’s jaw.

_“Hope.”_

Josie melts, clutching at Hope’s waist desperately. A quiet moan frees itself from her lips. Her skin feels warm, a result of Hope’s presence and everyone else around them.

Can everyone see how much she wants Hope?

God, this is embarrassing and hot and so, _so_ inappropriate. Did she seriously just moan in public over a single kiss?

“You said not to tease.” Hope leans back, grinning smugly as her hands travel up to lock behind Josie’s neck.

“What, um?” Josie licks her lips breathlessly and fails to remember English. “What brought this on?”

Hope shrugs - again, casual, like this isn’t a huge step in their relationship. “I’m trying to be braver. This okay?”

“Yeah, it’s more than okay.”

At first, Josie wishes that they could go up to the bar and order drinks, since dancing this way while sober is kind of hard, but Hope leads her into it. Of course, Hope is a good dancer. She’s already graceful and confident, so Josie isn’t surprised when Hope starts to move to the music effortlessly.

What _does_ shock Josie is the moment when she figures out how to do the same. It’s somehow easier with Hope at her side - everything is.

Music has become more familiar to her since the club started and she’s able to find the beat after a short amount of time. She keeps her hands on Hope’s hips and follows her lead the whole night, swinging her body around at the same time Hope does.

It’s a push and pull - a game where they are the only two players in the world.

However, they aren’t the only people in the world. Josie is vaguely aware of that throughout the hours that pass. They aren’t the only couple to kiss on the dance floor and some people are doing a lot more, but no one cares. No one even pays attention.

They are so, so far from Mystic Falls.

Josie is in love. She adores this city and the people in it, including Hope. She _loves_ Hope.

All she can do is stare at the girl while they dance, enjoying how uncharacteristically messy Hope looks. Hope’s hair is tousled from Josie’s fingers running through it, her skin damp and shiny under the lights with sweat, the rise and fall of her chest drawing Josie in like the tide.

Hope simply grins at Josie’s staring. Just the sight of Hope’s pearly white teeth has Josie’s blood pumping, all of it rushing through her veins so rapidly that she feels dizzy.

She tips towards Hope, trying to find her balance, and Hope catches her eagerly. Josie squirms while Hope holds her close and leans up to pant hotly against her neck.

“We should get out of here.” Hope suggests.

That is not at all what Josie thought Hope would say. Is she not having fun?

Josie is having an amazing time.

“What? Why?”

“No.” Hope shakes her head purposefully, strands of her hair skimming Josie’s jaw as she does it. _“We should get out of here.”_

Oh, fuck.

Finally understanding what Hope means, Josie nods hastily and all but picks Hope up to drag her out of that club.

Hope laughs wildly and Josie is in the middle of spinning her through the air when she realizes that it’s raining. Hard. Just as predicted, the drops of water are falling around them as fast and surely as bullets, soaking them to the bone.

“Remember when you said it was barely drizzling?” Josie asks and pokes Hope’s stomach, just for the hell of it.

They are still lingering around near the club, so no one seems too bothered by their affection.

“That was earlier.” Hope protests.

In all honesty, Josie isn’t as bothered by the rain as she thought she would be. She barely even notices it as she steps closer to Hope, her eyes flickering down to trace Hope’s lips as she wets them.

Josie goes slowly, offering Hope enough time to pull away if she isn’t entirely comfortable with this. Hope stays still and waits until Josie connects their lips to shift forward, deepening the kiss. There is an odd thrill that comes with doing this like two frenzied, horny teenagers who can’t keep their hands off of each other.

There is also the rain. The droplets slip between them, unnoticed, and cause their hair to grow thick with water.

Josie runs her fingers through Hope’s hair, parting the wet strands. She wonders how it will feel, later, when she does this in private, in a closed room where they’ll-

_“Hope?”_

Their mouths part ways at the booming voice. Josie looks around in pure confusion, until she finds the source of the voice. A random blonde woman, one of the people in line for the club, is staring at them both with an open mouth.

Hope stares back, astonished. “Freya?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyways, thoughts?


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise #2 time :)

No one says anything of substance for a long while.

Of course, all three of them try to say one thing or another, but the sound of the rain pelting the ground drowns their words out. That’s not the only problem (there is never truly one problem, these days). Hope’s cast really isn’t meant to get this wet, nor is any of their clothing, and soon Freya is dragging the both of them to a nearby parking lot.

Josie has no idea how she feels about getting into a stranger’s car, but Freya isn’t exactly a stranger.

It’s weird - it’s _so_ weird.

Something about Freya is incredibly familiar. The sharp jawline, the expressive eyes, the way she’s able to herd them towards her vehicle without speaking a single word. Freya may be a tall blonde with green eyes, but for a second, in the heavy fall of the rain, Josie fails to find any difference between Hope and Freya.

So, Josie clambers into the backseat of the car without question. It may be stupid, but Hope trusts Freya and Josie trusts Hope.

Freya locks the doors as soon as they’re inside and breathes a long sigh of relief. There’s a little pause, where everyone is catching their breath from sprinting to the car and reeling from the surprise of running into each other, but it passes and gives way to awkward silence.

“I have about a hundred questions.” Freya says finally, looking at Hope, who is occupying her passenger seat. “Starting with the girl in the back. Please tell me I didn’t just invite one of your random hook-ups into the car.”

Hope pinks slightly. “Oh, no. That’s my girlfriend, Josie.”

All eyes in the car turn to Josie. Honestly, it’s always unnerving to be stared at by Hope’s family members, but it’s a lot more awkward when Josie just got caught making out with Hope.

Again.

Maybe they should invest in some sort of invisibility cloak. Josie has seen Harry Potter, she thinks it would be beneficial to have one around.

“Hi.” Josie waves and tries at a polite smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

It takes Freya a moment to recover and introduce herself back. Josie doesn’t blame her. She had months to get used to the idea of Hope kissing a girl, Freya is getting a couple of minutes.

“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Freya.” She says, holding her hand out to Josie.

They shake hands for a little too long, mostly because Freya keeps on inspecting her like she’s trying to find something. Josie squirms under the scrutiny and Hope, probably noticing how weird this is becoming, clears her throat loudly.

“Can you both please stop staring?” Hope asks.

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” Freya retracts her hand. “I’m just a bit surprised. Weren’t you dating that boy? What was his name? Roman?”

“That was middle school.”

“Right.” Freya nods and things don’t get any less awkward.

In an attempt to distract herself, Josie glances at the clock in the car. It’s nearing three in the morning. Shit. Josie can just imagine everyone at the motel, waking up to see that Hope and Josie aren’t there, and then calling the cops in a blind panic.

Her phone has no notifications on the screen, but her dad is known to overreact and not think clearly when he’s worried - and if not her dad, then Lizzie.

Again, _shit_.

“Hope, it’s three.” Josie points out. She had no idea it was that late.

Apparently, Hope didn’t either, because she looks at the clock in disbelief and swears under her breath.

“Uh, Freya.” Hope stares pleadingly at her aunt. “Can you drive us somewhere?”

Freya considers it for a moment. “Okay, but you’re answering all of my questions.”

“Deal.”

Freya starts up the car.

Some of the questions Freya asks are easily answerable. She asks them how they got to New Orleans, why they’re here, where their parents are, how Hope got a cast, and all of the usual stuff a concerned adult would question two teenagers about. Hope gives her every bit of information without hesitation.

The awkwardness quickly fades away. It’s a pretty comfortable drive for Josie, since neither of the girls in the front say a word to her for most of the ride, but then-

“So, how did you two start dating?”

“Um.” Hope glances at Josie for help. Josie can do nothing but shrug. She doesn’t want to be the one that explains how years of bullying and tension lead them to dry-humping in a motel a while ago. “Long story.”

“We have time.” Freya replies pointedly, though they really don’t. The motel is less than two minutes away.

Hope shifts to gaze at Josie with something that could only be described as puppy-dog eyes. Josie melts at the sight of them and rushes to come up with a respectable answer. She doesn’t have the words to explain those odd months of bumping into each other in bathrooms, of arguing and teasing, of complete and total stupidity.

What does Hope expect Josie to do? Look Freya in the eye and explain how her niece drunkenly kissed her, then proceeded to act very moody before eventually slamming Josie against a door?

No way.

“We met at school and just… got closer in Glee Club.” Josie explains, which technically isn’t a lie.

“I still can’t believe you’re in a glee club.” Freya shakes her head, smiling fondly while she parks the car. It’s only then that Josie realizes they are outside the motel. “Rebekah would get a kick out of that.”

Hope quiets considerably, staring blankly at Freya. It takes Josie a second to remember that Rebekah is one of Hope’s many relatives.

“Wait. You still talk to Aunt Rebekah?”

Freya nods slowly, allowing Hope to process whatever is going through her head. “And Elijah, Kol, and Finn. Henry sort of fell off the face of the Earth, but he calls on Christmas. Klaus and Hayley are really the only ones who stopped talking to me.”

Hope just stares ahead for a long, long time.

Josie almost feels as if she’s intruding, but it would probably be rude to jump out of the car. On one hand, she knows that they should be in the middle of sneaking back into their room right now, but on the other, Hope sort of looks as if her brain is breaking into tiny chunks.

Her worry gets the best of her, and Josie finds herself unconsciously reaching out to squeeze Hope’s shoulder for comfort. Hope’s brain begins to visibly piece itself together, at least enough that she stops looking like a goldfish and holds Josie’s hand back.

Freya watches the exchange silently, not saying a word but allowing her lips to twitch up into a small smile.

It’s the exact kind of barely-there, hard to read expression that makes Josie’s head spin. She’s seen that look on Hope’s face many times. Are all of the Mikaelsons like this?

Josie feels like one day she’ll get introduced to all of them and have a heart attack when faced with the intimidation and guarded expressions.

“Actually,” Freya drawls, twisting one of the rings on her fingers purposefully. “They’re all coming to my wedding. I was going to go to Mystic Falls and ask if you wanted to come, but you’re here now, so…”

Hope gapes at her. “You’re getting married? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You have a girlfriend? Why didn’t you tell me?” She returns in the same tone, causing Hope to shut her mouth with a quiet huff.

“That’s different.”

“Is it?”

Josie’s eyes bounce between them, noting every little similarity and difference. This is getting a bit creepy, just because every time she looks at them they seem to get more and more similar.

“It’s late. I’ll give you my number and you can call me to decide, okay?” Freya offers, to which Hope nods. Both of them exchange numbers while Josie watches, silent and lurking, fidgeting in the backseat. Once their phones are back in their pockets, Freya unlocks the doors. “Okay, Hope, give me a second with Josie.”

“But-“

“Hope.”

Hope sighs, glancing at Josie worriedly, before leaning across the console to drag Freya into a hug that lasts for several long seconds.

“Please don’t threaten her.” Hope whispers as she leaves, which only makes Josie more anxious.

The door shuts lightly behind Hope and silence spreads through the car. Josie would be full-on afraid if it weren’t for Hope standing right next to the vehicle, propped up beside it with her arms crossed like a guard dog.

“I’m not going to threaten you, don’t worry.” Freya reassures her, twisting in her seat to face Josie properly. “I actually want to thank you. Hope seems really happy.”

“Oh.” Josie blurts uselessly.

She totally thought that Freya was going to give her the shovel talk. This is a lot better. Josie isn’t sure she’s ready to be threatened by a Mikaelson ever again.

“You seem nice, too. No more sneaking into clubs until you’re twenty-one, okay?” Freya’s voice takes on a warning tone at that last part and Josie bobs her head hurriedly.

“Okay.”

Josie exits the car and drags Hope, by the hand, under the coverage of the motel. The rain has let up a little, but it’s still drizzling somewhat and she wants to avoid Hope’s cast getting too wet. If it ends up drenched, it will take forever to dry and everyone will ask why they were outside in the middle of the night.

What would Josie even say? At some point, they are both going to run out of lies.

Freya waves from the window before driving away and disappearing into the night. Only then does Hope exhale fully, staring at the spot where the vehicle used to be parked.

“Are you okay?” Josie asks. She knows they need to get back into their room, but Hope’s hand feels heavier than usual tonight, and somehow that takes top priority.

“Yeah.” Hope responds, leaning into Josie’s side, despite the fact that their friends are probably lurking around somewhere. “I actually really like it here.”

“I like it, too.”

They stand there for another minute more. An insistent voice in Josie’s mind chastises her for going out so late and not rushing back into the motel, but her body momentarily refuses to move itself from Hope’s warmth. It’s almost as if Hope is smuggling a heater under her clothes.

Eventually, Josie tugs Hope’s hand and leads her to the stairs. They disconnect from each other halfway to the top, but Josie doesn’t really mind. She can hold Hope’s hand another time, in another place.

Right now, all Josie wants is to not get caught.

Josie cautiously inches the door open, pushing it further when she sees that no lights are on inside of the room. When she props it open fully, the faint moonlight exposes everything in the room, meaning they get a full view of Penelope and Maya.

Penelope, who is shirtless and leaning against a collection of fluffy pillows on the bed, and Maya, who is on top of Penelope and enthusiastically kissing her into the mattress.

_“Oh-“_ Josie squeaks, rather loudly, and spins around to face a wall.

Suspicions confirmed.

This isn’t a big surprise. Josie has always been almost positive that the two were dating, she just didn’t expect to see them like _this_. She blinks hard to rid the image from her mind, but it’s no use and heat rises to her cheeks before she can fight it off.

People really need to learn to lock doors.

“What are you two doing?” Hope asks, her mouth hanging open in disbelief while she continues to stare at the pair.

Right. Josie almost forgot that Hope is still oblivious and firmly set in her denial on most things. She taps Hope’s arm and forces her to avert her eyes. Neither one of them look back at the couple until Maya is off of Penelope and they both look relatively presentable.

When Josie finally faces them again, Penelope has her shirt back on.

“Nothing.” Penelope lies coolly. “What are you doing with Josie in the middle of the night?”

“Nothing.” Hope shrugs.

What’s amazing is that if Penelope wasn’t sporting a particularly obvious hickey and two swollen lips, and if Hope wasn’t drenched in rain and standing right next to Josie, then they would both look as if nothing is wrong.

They’re such good liars that it’s scary.

“Did you both, like, take a shower with your clothes on?” Maya questions dumbly, her eyes glazed over a tad.

For the first time ever, Josie wonders if the whole stupid thing is just an act. It must be. Sometimes Maya is as quick-witted and sly as Penelope and Hope, and other times she seems to have the brain of a child.

Is Maya the best liar of them all?

“You know what? This is exhausting.” Hope declares, shrugging out of her shirt and going further into the room. She collapses on the bed beside the couple, wet hair and all. “I’m tired. We can all talk in the morning.”

“Well. Looks like the general has given her orders.” Penelope comments.

Hope uses the last of her energy to flip Penelope off.

Josie stands in the doorway, watching all of this go down. Penelope shifts until she has her arm around Maya’s waist and Maya turns on her side to get comfortable, and all of them look as if they are actually going to sleep now without another word. This is weird, right?

It’s weird.

Isn’t it?

“Are we not going to talk about this?” Josie asks. How is no one freaking out?

“Shh.” Maya hushes her. “It’s best if you just go with it.”

Josie’s stomach rumbles in protest and she rubs it until the noise stops, remembering how she had denied Caroline’s offer for dinner earlier.

There are a lot of things Josie thinks that she should worry about. First of all, Penelope, Hope, and Maya have such a strange dynamic that it’s actually worrying. Secondly, Josie sees no sign of Dana or, more importantly, Lizzie.

She should find and drag her sister to bed.

She should wake them all up and get them to talk about their feelings.

Instead, Josie ventures back out into the hall and decides to go search for the vending machine. She figures she can question Hope about her emotions in the morning and that Lizzie is in the boy’s room, nestled safely near MG, so - _fuck it._

Josie wants a candy bar.

No, she _deserves_ a candy bar. Her life has been incredibly crazy over the last few months.

Thankfully, the vending machine is easy to locate and Josie doesn’t have to be out in the rain for too long. She barely inspects the snacks behind the glass for a second before randomly punching in a number and letter combo, paying for the gummy bears mindlessly. Honestly, Josie just needs to get something in her stomach before bed.

“Josie!” A voice calls from behind her.

Josie yelps and lurches forward, accidentally slamming her head into the machine. A throbbing pain radiates across her forehead and she hisses as the cool air swipes against it.

She thinks she might be bleeding.

“Ow, fuck.” Josie murmurs under her breath. She touches the tender skin tentatively, finding it sore but free of any crimson stains.

Once her ears stop ringing and the aching fades away a bit, Josie remembers that she has an audience. The voice didn’t sound like her father, and thankfully it isn’t. Unfortunately, it’s not one of her favorite boys either.

“You’re so cute when you swear.” Landon says, so abrupt and honestly that Josie immediately guesses he’s drunk. “It’s adorable.”

“Oh, uh. Thank you?” Josie frowns and glances around as he approaches.

No one else seems to be in the vicinity, which means she has to be alone with Landon for at least a minute or so. Great.

Landon stops about a foot away from her and Josie leans against the vending machine to put an extra inch of space between them. Distantly, she hears the faint sound of the gummy bear bag dropping against the inside of the machine. It’s hard to hear over Landon’s unsteady breathing.

He sways towards her slightly but rocks back just as quickly, a hand on his stomach like he might vomit right in front of her. The strong smell of alcohol lingers in the air, wafting off of him in waves.

Josie wonders how much he had to drink. “Do you want help to the boys’ room?”

“Your sister called me a bird tonight.” Landon blurts.

“Oh?” She questions in response. He appears so disoriented that Josie wants to laugh, but she contains herself.

She will not laugh.

She _will_ be nice.

“‘Cause of the hair. Like a bird’s nest.” Landon tugs at one of his curls mindlessly.

A small grin crawls across Josie’s face without her permission. It slips off of her lips seconds later when he sways forward and doesn’t retreat back this time, effectively pressing her up against the machine in one rocky motion. Josie would panic, but it feels more as if he can’t walk and less like he’s trying to box her in.

Still. It’s uncomfortable.

“Landon-“

“You smell like her.” He blurts after a sharp inhale and finally tilts back, though his arms stay propped up against the machine. “She always talked about you, so, _so_ much. Do you remember when Hope broke her arm?”

The quick transition from one topic to the next makes it harder for Josie to keep up with the conversation. As a result, she can only sputter for that small moment where Landon frowns down at her and her heartbeat begins to kick into overdrive.

Josie wishes Hope was here, but Hope is yards away, sleeping peacefully.

“Yeah.” Josie breathes as a pit of dread swells in her stomach. “I remember.”

Maybe she doesn’t actually wish Hope was here, because Hope would take one look at how close Landon is to her and snap his neck in seconds.

“I found a bag on the field that day.” Landon continues, his expression conflicted as he speaks. “I thought it might be Hope’s, so I checked to see if her phone was there. It was. I have her password, you know. She had a text from you, which I thought was the funniest thing, because you two aren’t close at all.”

“Land-“

“Apparently, I’m _very_ wrong.” He cuts her off and Josie swallows thickly, watching his mouth twist into something close to a scowl and his eyes darken a fraction.

Josie swears she can’t breathe. Suddenly, it’s all too much. Her body is too tired to deal with a simple conversation, and now Landon is not only dropping a bomb on her, but suffocating her with the potent scent of alcohol and sweat. It clouds her nose, forces its way into her senses in a manner that is entirely unpleasant.

She inhales deeply, trying to process all of this in the short time she’s been given.

“You went through her phone?” Josie asks roughly, the anger winning out against every other emotion.

Landon scoffs. “I can’t believe you’re defending her after how she’s treated you for years. I can’t even believe you’re _dating_ her. It’s gross-“

Josie slaps him across the face. Hard. Her hand tingles with the force of it, her entire palm tinted slightly pink from the hit. The sound seems to echo around them. While Landon stumbles back, Josie stands there in shock, her eyes shooting between her fingers and the noticeable flush of color on Landon’s cheek.

She hasn’t hit anyone but her sister before.

“I…” Josie trails off, the words _I’m sorry_ dying on her lips as soon as she realizes she feels no remorse. Blinded by panic, she rushes away from him.

Josie forgets to bring her gummy bears.


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank u for all of the support and comments (especially the memes and reactions on Twitter lmao)

Josie wakes up to a full room and the sound of a running shower.

She shifts on the bed slowly, the sheets around her twisted at odd angles due to the two other girls on the bed. Dana must have settled things with Lizzie somehow because she’s curled up at their feet like a dog, while Lizzie is cradling Josie tightly to her chest.

It would be embarrassing being openly spooned by her sister, but Penelope and Maya seem to be getting up to a lot of cuddling themselves.

Josie stares at the couple for a while (she has become sort of fond of their love, especially with how Maya is quietly snoring into the crook of Penelope’s neck right now), before realizing that Hope isn’t in the bed with them. She must be the one in the shower.

Seconds later, her suspicions are confirmed by Hope exiting the bathroom.

The room begins to fill with the sweet scent of roses and the warmth from lingering steam. Hope’s hair is two shades darker than usual from the water, which only makes her pink cast appear brighter. The rest of her is clad in simple, dark underwear, and Josie would feel like a creep, but when she pries her eyes away Hope is smiling at her secretly.

It’s a nice way to wake up.

_Perv,_ Hope mouths at her and winks teasingly. Josie rolls her eyes and fails to contain the rising blush on her cheeks, thankful no one else is up to see the exchange.

“No, idiot. Go back to bed.“ Hope whisper-yells. It takes Josie a surprising amount of time to notice that Hope has her phone and is in the middle of a call.

Hope sorts through her bag and talks to the person on the phone while Josie watches. She’ll occasionally look up and smile or wave at Josie, just to acknowledge her presence. It goes on like this for a few more minutes, until Hope is putting on an oversized hoodie and hanging up.

Josie expects Hope to get back in bed, but Hope stalks over to the other side of the room and tugs the door open.

The light that leaks into the room sparks chaos amongst the hungover girls, multiple groans filling the air in an instant.

“Oh my fucking god.” Penelope groans, using Maya as a shield. “What the hell are you doing?”

Interested in her girlfriend’s actions, Josie sits up, only to find Hope leaning against the doorway and talking to Sebastian. Not just Sebastian, but most of the boys. All of them are standing in their underwear and have towels slung over their shoulders for some reason. A few of them are peering expectantly into the room.

MG notices Josie in the back and waves at her. She waves back, even though she’s concerned about her friend being out there in his boxers.

Aren’t they supposed to be hungover?

“We can’t go swimming.” Hope says firmly and shifts further from the doorway, so more sunlight comes into the room and falls over Penelope. It seems as if Hope is just trying to spite her. “It’s, like, eight in the morning.”

“So? It’ll be fun.” Sebastian returns.

Penelope crawls out of bed and lands on the floor, then proceeds to scurry on her hands and knees towards the bathroom. Josie wrinkles her nose in disgust as she hears the clear sounds of vomiting come from Penelope’s mouth.

“Jesus, just shut the door.” Dana grumbles, apparently awake.

“Shut up, Dana.” Maya snaps, already up on her feet and ready to go help. Josie watches Maya disappear into the bathroom after Penelope, like the good, concerned girlfriend she is.

Cute.

“Somebody shoot me.” Lizzie groans so loudly one would think she became a zombie. Maybe it just seems too loud because it’s directly in Josie’s ear and she has to flinch away to preserve her hearing.

Lizzie simply holds onto Josie’s waist tighter and sniffs her, because she’s super weird and probably secretly an alien or something.

“What are you doing?” Josie asks, squirming away from her sister’s nose.

Lizzie raises her eyebrows. “How are you not hungover?”

Josie has no idea what her scent has to do with being hungover. She is about to tell Lizzie this when Dana sits up and joins the conversation needlessly, giving Josie an odd look while she does.

“Are you sure you were there last night, Josie?” Dana asks and Josie swallows, feeling an ache build in her skull as she wonders why someone gave Dana the power to speak. “I feel like I didn’t see you after the movie.”

“Oh, I just ditched to go clubbing.” Josie shrugs. It comes out easily, since it’s the truth, and a few chuckles come from the other girls.

Lizzie takes it upon herself to pinch Josie’s cheeks a little too hard. “Of course you did, baby face.”

Since everyone seems to be taking the truth as a joke, Josie decides to try and go back to sleep. Of course, this is really hard to do when Hope, who is wearing no pants, is still talking to Sebastian, who is wearing nothing but boxers.

Why does he have to have such great abs?

Josie swallows down her jealousy and focuses on their conversation again, pleased to find Hope sounding slightly annoyed with him.

“I have a cast. I can’t swim.” Hope points out.

“Oh.” Sebastian gives her a blank stare, as if he didn’t think about this beforehand. “Well, the other girls are invited, then.”

“Wow, thanks babe.” Hope drawls sarcastically and proceeds to close the door in his face.

Hope sighs as she steps back into the room. As if unable to stop herself, Hope looks at Josie again, and Josie gets to see the frustration slip off of Hope’s face. They stare at each other for a second that lasts forever and then Penelope comes out of the bathroom, still crawling.

“So funny to see how affectionate you are with your boyfriend, Hopey.” Penelope comments and Hope levels her with one of the darkest glares Josie has ever seen.

“So funny to see you _kneeling_ in front of Maya, Penny.” Hope returns easily.

“Okay.” Maya drawls, ever the peacemaker. She stands between the two passive aggressive girls. “Who wants to go swimming? I want to go swimming.”

Surprisingly, a fair amount of the girls want to go swimming. Hope keeps up the excuse with her cast and Josie fakes a stomach ache, but the rest of the girls start to put on bikinis, despite the constant complaints about hangovers and a lack of greasy food.

It takes fifteen minutes, some Advil, a lot of loud yelling and trading off in the bathroom, but soon the rest of the girls are leaving Hope and Josie alone.

Hope gets up immediately and locks the door behind everyone, giving Josie a pointed look as she does so. Josie rolls her eyes in response. She knows she should have remembered to lock the door that time Hayley walked in on them, but at least things turned out okay.

Josie shifts to the middle of the bed while Hope joins her on it, and in seconds their fingers are lacing, hands firmly clamped together.

“We should talk.” Josie says quietly. She reaches out to brush a few damp strands off of Hope’s forehead.

“I know.”

There is so much to say. Josie figures that they should start with Landon. She needs to tell Hope about everything that happened last night and now is the perfect time, since they’ll be crowded by other people for the rest of the day.

The words are hard to force out. There’s a tiny voice in her head that tells her to shut up, because it is worried Hope will only bury herself deeper in the closet once she hears this new information. That would suck.

How far back in the closet can one person go? To Narnia?

“I’m not worried about Penelope saying anything. She’s just pissy and hungover.” Hope explains and Josie nods. She guesses they can talk about Penelope and Maya first. “I just didn’t know they were… _you know._ ”

Josie can’t help it. She chuckles quietly at the dramatic way Hope utters those last two words, like she’s never heard of other gay couples before.

“You can say the word, Hope. Words don’t bite.” Josie points out, a little teasingly. “Especially after everything we did last night.”

It’s funny, because words don’t bite, but Hope Mikaelson definitely does.

“Alright, alright. I didn’t know they were dating. I guess we should talk to them about us.” Hope shifts to face Josie properly. It knocks their noses together in a way that isn’t entirely uncomfortable and Josie has to resist the urge to kiss her.

“About us?” She questions hopefully.

“Mhmm.” Hope hums. “I guess we should tell them, and… maybe Lizzie, too.”

“Yay!” Josie kisses all over Hope’s face excitedly, while Hope laughs and calls her cute about a hundred times. She can’t believe she gets to finally tell people, after all this time.

It’s nice.

So nice, in fact, that Josie forgets about Landon completely and settles on top of Hope. She kisses her firmly, clenching the fabric of Hope’s hoodie into her little fists and enjoying the faint taste of mint that greets her tongue.

“Did you mean what you said last night?” Josie asks, pulling away just enough to put the words between them. “About us… _getting out of there._ ”

The simple phrase has never been more suggestive.

Hope pinks instantly but nods. “Yeah.”

Josie grins at how shy Hope looks and leans in to kiss her again. Hope’s hands have been politely resting on the sheets the whole time and, while Josie appreciates the gesture, she needs more than that. She pulls them up from off the bed and sets them low on her hips, pleased when Hope sighs sweetly against her mouth.

She doubts that they’re going to have sex in a dusty motel room, but the thought of them having sex at all is spurring Josie on.

Wasn’t she supposed to get them to talk about… something?

Fuck it, Josie can’t really remember anything when Hope is kissing her neck.

“Hey, Jo?” Hope murmurs into her throat.

“Hey, Hope?” Josie returns playfully, the last syllable coming out in a sharp hitch due to Hope’s mouth on her body.

Whatever Hope plans to say gets lost for a moment, since she’s a little busy with the kissing. Hope sucks a soft patch of Josie’s skin between her lips, nipping gently before releasing it with a wet pop and leaning away completely.

Josie is about to complain, but-

“I love you.” Hope admits through a shaky exhale.

Before Josie can respond or formulate a thought that exists outside of her hormonal, makeout session brain, someone knocks on the door.

Hope huffs and gently nudges Josie off of her. Josie can hear Hope complaining about people interrupting them, but it sounds distant compared to what Hope just told her.

Hope _loves_ her.

Hope loves her and Landon is standing at the door.

“Oh.” Hope says very, very awkwardly. “Hey?”

Josie comes to her senses and fixes herself into a more presentable position once she notices Landon staring blatantly at her. She had been sitting on the bed, still on her knees, probably looking thoroughly tousled and a little aroused.

Landon _definitely_ doesn’t need to see that.

“Hey.” Landon responds, finally shifting his eyes off of Josie and to Hope. “I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to, uh, apologize for being a dick after the breakup. I could’ve dealt with it better.”

Clearly, Hope wasn’t expecting this. “Okay. I’m sorry too, I guess.”

Hope tries to shut the door on him, most likely in a rush to get back to their kissing and her love confession, but Landon stops her before she can close it.

“Sebastian wants to see you.” Landon blurts, sounding as if he’s lying.

“I know. I told him I can’t get my cast wet.”

He shrugs. “Then go sunbathe.”

Landon’s gaze shifts to Josie, once again staring at her quite obviously, and Josie awkwardly brings her knees to her chest. She is fully clothed and yet she feels oddly exposed with his eyes on her.

“Oh, and he wants ramen.” Landon continues, tapping one of his fingers against the doorway.

“Where am I supposed to get ramen?”

“The lobby.” Landon responds, as if they’ve been here before and it’s common knowledge. He crosses his arms over his chest, appearing a little smug with the information he’s recently acquired about them. “Come on, H. It’s what a good girlfriend would do.”

Hope glares at him, though it doesn’t quite hit its mark this time. There is confusion clouding the malice in it - and _damn it,_ Josie should have just told her everything earlier. Fortunately, Landon looks away first, as if her watered-down glare still managed to cut him to the bone.

“Fine. Are you going to leave?” Hope asks, and it sounds almost as if she’s growling at him.

“No. I want to talk to Josie.” Landon admits and Josie shakes her head at him, but he chooses to ignore her. “Why? Do you have a problem with that?”

Hope is holding the door knob so hard it looks as if it might crumble to pieces in her hand.

“No.”

With obvious reluctance, Hope steps outside. She peers in at Josie for a split second before disappearing from view completely, leaving her alone with Landon. Landon comes into the room and shuts the door like he hasn’t just totally ruined their moment.

Great. This is fun.

Thankfully, Landon isn’t in his underwear like the other boys who planned to swim, and he has the decency to put some distance between them. He settles on the bed across from Josie, getting comfortable on the edge of it.

“I wanted to apologize to you, too.” Landon runs a hand through his hair and memories of last night flash in Josie’s mind. _Bird’s nest._ “I was drunk. I’m not homophobic or anything, it’s just gross because it’s… you know, Hope.”

Landon mutters Hope’s name in a hushed tone, as if she’s a Disney villain. It rubs Josie the wrong way.

“No, I don’t know.” Josie skims her finger along her neck and tugs her collar up when she notices the skin is a tiny bit tender.

She doubts that there will be a lasting mark (since they were so rudely interrupted), but that spot is probably a gentle pink right now, and Josie wants to keep the color a secret from everyone but Hope.

“Hope bullied you for years. It was like she was obsessed, she’d even talk about you when we were making out, which… makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it.” Landon scratches his side. He seems irritated for a moment, but it passes.

“She talked about me while you guys made out?” Josie questions, sounding far too pleased with this information.

The irritation seems to come back. “Only a few times.”

Josie and Landon stare at each other for a while. She isn’t sure what’s going through his head, but she guesses that he is processing the situation, same as her. It wasn’t long ago that Hope was kissing him possessively in front of Josie, making a show of their relationship.

Hope was always just making a show.

Something light stirs in Josie’s chest and she wills it to go away, because she thinks that it’s pride. She enjoys the fact that Hope chose her. Secretly, she wants to rub it in Landon’s face, but she’s too good of a person to mess with him. He hasn’t been particularly mean to her in the years that they’ve known each other, so Josie will show him the same courtesy.

She decides she won’t say anything rude. This means that she sits there for a minute in silence, realizing that she has absolutely nothing to say to him.

Why did Josie have a crush on him?

“Well, again, I’m sorry. I’m going to go.” Landon announces and stands. He hesitates, looking as if he’s mulling over the idea of hugging her, but thinks better of it. “I won’t tell anyone, by the way. I know Hope’s parents would kill her.”

Landon leaves with one last timid smile. Josie plops down on the bed as soon as she’s gone and replays everything that just happened with a grimace. She would find Hope, but it would be pointless. Hope is probably chilling by a pool with Sebastian right now, and Josie isn’t even sure where the motel’s pool is.

Should she try and go swim? On one hand, going out with her friends could be fun, but on the other, the thought of ditching a perfectly warm, empty room sounds shitty.

Josie grabs the remote off the nightstand and turns on the television. Decision made.

It takes about an hour for anyone to come back. When the door finally pops open, Josie is in the middle of a Spongebob Squarepants marathon and hurries to change the channel to something a high school student would watch. Some random drama show begins to drown out the sound of all of the girls returning.

Maya is carrying Penelope bridal style, swinging her into the room carelessly. Dana enters quietly and steals the bathroom before anyone else can get it. Hope and Lizzie are following closely behind her, and actually look as if they’re having a conversation.

Weird.

Josie doesn’t know how she feels about her sister and her girlfriend talking without her there. What could they possibly be saying?

“Hi.” Josie says cautiously, observing them.

“Hey.” Both Hope and Lizzie respond - not in unison, thankfully.

She has the sneaking suspicion they were talking about her. Lizzie has a habit of exposing mortifying details about Josie’s childhood to anyone that will listen.

The sound of the shower turning on seems to still the room. Lizzie, who had clearly been planning on going into the bathroom, pauses at the noise. All of the other girls freeze for a different reason. With Dana gone, they have no reason to hide or dance around the elephant in the room.

“Good, Dana is in the bathroom.” Maya snaps her fingers and gestures to the beds. “Everyone sit. We all need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry chapters have been short lately, I promise the last 12 will be long


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maya has somehow become one of my favorites in this fic

“Maya, why are we on the floor?”

All of the girls, except for Dana (thank god), are currently in a badly shaped circle. It reminds Hope of middle school sleepovers, when they’d gossip about who was cool and who was not and eventually ramble on about boys. She would feel totally nostalgic if it weren’t for the fact that the floor has about a hundred dust bunnies on it and vaguely smells like Cheetos and feet.

Hope would really rather get on a bed or a carpet of some kind. Even the bath bat for the shower would suffice.

“Do you remember cheerleading camp?” Maya responds, which seems to have nothing to do with anything, but Hope nods anyways.

“Yeah.”

“That was somehow both the best and worst time of my life.” Penelope chimes in.

That statement can not be more true. Hope has no idea how some days at camp would be almost perfect bliss and others would be close to hell on Earth. It confused her, back then, how the older girls would be able to flip through their emotions so effortlessly, but now it comes easily to Hope.

Like, right now. Hope checks her nails and forces herself to look perfectly indifferent, though she can feel a hint of fear swelling between her ribs.

There are only a few things they could talk about. Penelope and Maya’s relationship, for one. Hope wants answers about that, because she has no idea how her best friends were able to date without her knowing, but at the same time, she can’t be mad at them for it. It would make her look like a hypocrite. She’s been kissing Josie since Sectionals.

“What does any of this have to do with Cheerios camp?” Lizzie questions, somewhat eagerly. “And is that mandatory?”

Her attitude has become more cheerful (pun intended) now that Hope mentioned getting her a spot on the squad. It may turn out to be a grave mistake, but whatever. It’ll make Josie happy.

“It is, but don’t worry, you’re not a freshman so Hope won’t hang you from a flag pole or anything.” Penelope explains, at which Lizzie nods and Josie looks scandalized.

Josie puts her wide, accusing puppy eyes on Hope and Hope forces her gaze to the floor. She picks at some lint absentmindedly. Why does she feel so guilty all of a sudden? She used to not care about how much she hurt people.

“She’s joking. I didn’t do that.” Hope assures, lying blatantly.

“But what about-“

“Stop talking.”

Penelope puts up her hands in surrender, but she doesn’t look very sorry. Hope longs for the days when she could be a bitch without anyone questioning her, but now she’s gone soft and has Josie.

Honestly? Worth it.

After a moment, Hope clears her throat. “I still don’t know what this has to do with camp.”

“Remember that bonding game we played? Circle of Secrets?” Maya asks. Hope can recall memories of the game so well that she instantly cringes and wants to curl into a ball. “Everyone goes in a circle and shares a secret. Simple. The only rule is: no judgement.”

“I hated that game.” Hope murmurs.

Sharing secrets with practical strangers who want to steal the Head Cheerio slot? Big no.

“I’ll start.” Maya continues, completely ignoring Hope’s complaint. “I used to eat coins when I was little. Penny, you go.”

There’s a joke in there somewhere, Hope is sure of it.

Penelope searches the room as if her secrets are resting in the walls. “Um. I locked someone in a closet once.”

Huh.

What a weird coincidence.

Hope and Josie share a glance and Hope fixes her gaze on Penelope for a while, but Penelope seems content to stare at the ceiling. She keeps her eyes narrowed for a couple extra seconds, but Penelope knows better than to look at her directly and give herself away.

Did Penelope lock her and Josie in a closet? Why would she do that? It makes no sense. She has no motive and she knows Hope is claustrophobic.

Hope decides to drop it.

“I accidentally killed your hamster.” Lizzie admits to Josie.

Surprisingly, Josie doesn’t look too mad. “I accidentally killed your fish.”

It goes on like this for a while. Each one of them admit meaningless secrets, most of them humorous or just pure gossip. Hope talks about how she forgot Landon’s birthday multiple times, Penelope peed her pants at school sophomore year, Josie has almost lit her house on fire on several different occasions, and so on.

It’s fun.

Hope feels herself loosening up around the girls, almost as if she’s been drinking alcohol. It occurs to her halfway through how strange it is that they’ve been constantly revolving around each other without actually hanging out altogether.

Still, Hope has no idea what brought on Maya’s suggestion for all of this to happen.

Eventually, it’s Lizzie’s turn again. She takes one big, dramatic breath before speaking. “I’m dating MG.”

“You’re _what?_ ” Josie’s mouth actually pops open. It’s adorable.

“Hey! Maya said no judgement.”

“I’m not judging.” Josie drops her voice to a less judgmental tone and makes it more innocent. “I’m just surprised. Since when?”

Lizzie shrugs. “It’s not my turn, dear sister.”

Josie’s mouth opens and closes a little but soon shuts completely, forming a slightly more pronounced pout than usual. She glances at Hope. Once. Twice. Hope wants to roll her eyes at Josie failing so obviously to act subtle, but she has the tact to know doing so would only draw more attention to her.

She’s not ready for the attention. She just needs a few seconds to compose herself. Just three more seconds.

One…

Two...

“I’m also secretly dating…” Josie pauses, uncertain. Clearly, she’d be more comfortable if Hope went first, but she can’t pass on her turn. “Someone.”

Three…

“I’m dating Josie.” Hope says, all in one rushed sentence. She goes through it rapidly, quick like a bullet, and then somehow manages to suck all of the oxygen in the world into her lungs and lose it on an exhale.

Hope doesn’t really know what she’s expecting. She used to have nightmares of fire and brimstone, of someone in hell sitting around and waiting to get her at this exact moment. The darkest part of her mind puts an image in her head, where the circle they are sitting in expands until it’s big enough to drag Hope down into the raging flames.

That doesn’t happen.

In Hope’s fantasies, everyone would praise her for coming out and she could go to prom with Josie, then proceed to be the best power couple in the world. She pictures Josie at her side with a crown and a Cheerios uniform, and it’s such a thrilling thought that her heart thunders in her chest.

That doesn’t happen either.

Actually, the only reactions Hope gets from the girls are slight. Penelope, Maya, and Lizzie all share an unreadable glance. Josie squeezes her wrist and hesitates just barely before interlocking their fingers.

“I’m dating Penelope.” Maya continues the game, not a minute later.

Hope expects someone to say something at that. She guessed they were dating last night, when she saw them kissing, but she thought that Lizzie would at least gasp or something. Apparently, she thought wrong.

No reactions.

Penelope leans back on her palms. “Last year, on Halloween I-“

“Okay, is no one going to say anything?” Hope butts in, feeling as if she’s taken crazy pills. “No one is shocked?”

“Do you want us to be shocked?” Maya eyes her carefully, like Hope is as delicate as a baby bird.

“I want you to _react_.”

A pause.

Penelope shoots across the circle and tugs Hope into the tightest hug in the universe. Hope feels whatever small bit of air she was holding on to be violently shoved out of her lungs, but she can’t complain. She is honestly just glad someone did something, even if her bones are cracking under her friend’s arms.

“We just didn’t want to overwhelm you and have you freak out, but I have been waiting for this for years. I’m so _proud_ of you I-“ Penelope actually sounds as if she’s crying. “This is great.”

“Are you… crying?”

“Tell anyone and I’ll come to your house and kill you in your sleep, Mikaelson.” Penelope says sharply, though it doesn’t come out as threatening as it could be.

“You’re already killing me with this hug.” Hope grumbles, but she doesn’t pull away. Penelope’s hair works as great coverage for her face, and you know what? Maybe Hope is crying, too.

Maybe Hope deserves to cry and be hugged. The world has never been kind to her and Hope definitely hasn’t been kind to the world, but ever since her mom found out she has been braver, nicer, _better_.

Just when Hope thinks she’ll manage to slip out of the moment with her dignity, she feels two familiar arms circle her waist. She recognizes the body against her back as Josie’s instantly. Next comes Maya, and then Lizzie, and all of a sudden Hope is wrapped up in the warmth and love of the girls around her.

Goddamnit.

Why do group hugs melt her heart?

“No more secrets, okay?” Maya asks and the other girls parrot the words back to her.

“No more secrets.”

Josie is strangely quiet during the exchange. “I actually have-“

“What the hell?” Dana loudly makes her presence known as she comes out of the bathroom. “Why do you all look like you’re ready to start an orgy?”

Dana effectively kills the mood. As she prances around in her towel, everyone else discreetly wipes their eyes and tries not to appear too suspicious. Hope untangles her fingers from Josie’s, Penelope and Maya get up and go into the bathroom together, and Lizzie is much too busy death-glaring Dana to move off the floor.

Lizzie rocks towards Dana like she might actually hurt her and Josie grabs her sister by the waist.

“Murder means prison. Murder means prison. Murder means prison.” Josie repeats softly, barely able to wipe the scowl off of Lizzie’s face.

Hope might want to make Lizzie her apprentice.

For now, all they can do is wait. Literally. All of the girls have to take turns showering, except for Hope and Josie, who didn’t go in the pool. They can’t leave for another couple hours but it seems as if they have no time to do anything of substance, so the minutes tick by with everyone simply lounging around.

Hope spends her time mindlessly looking at the television and sneaking glances at Josie, who sits on the bed across from her.

She really can’t believe what she just did. Hope came out of the closet. Surprisingly, everything is perfectly fine. Everything is going on as normal, with her friends being a little annoying and Josie being cute, and the air continuing to flow outside while the birds chirp without an ounce of concern for Hope and her feelings.

Turns out, the world does not revolve around Hope. In fact, the universe does not seem to give a single fuck about Hope Mikaelson or her problems.

It’s actually kind of a relief.

Her phone buzzes on the nightstand, interrupting an episode of some cartoon she’s barely invested in. Hope leans over to go grab it and reads the notification on the screen, seeing that Sebastian has texted her.

_Do u & the girls want to get breakfast?_

Why does it irritate Hope that he doesn’t text like Josie? She needs to get a hold of herself before she starts disliking people for not being pouty brunettes. Not everyone can be as attractive as Josie, Hope can’t blame other people for that.

“Guys.” Hope calls their attention. “Do you want to go get food with the boys?”

A few murmurs come from the group, but the general answer is yes.

**Sure**

That’s how Hope ends up sandwiched between Penelope and Maya on the sidewalk, heading to a nearby diner with Josie and Lizzie behind them. They didn’t have to work hard to ditch Dana, since she opted to take a nap instead of joining them.

Which means everyone is free to ask questions, and Hope has a lot of them.

“How long have you guys been dating?” Is the first one out of Hope’s mouth, directed at Maya and Penelope.

Distantly, Hope can hear Josie having a similar conversation with her sister about Lizzie and MG, but she can’t be bothered to listen in on that. She barely knows MG enough to care and knowing the details of Lizzie’s love life is hardly on her list of priorities.

“Since freshman year.” Penelope responds, a bit shyly, maybe finally feeling guilty for keeping it a secret for so long. “What about you and Josie? Was it, I don’t know, around Halloween by any chance?”

Hope raises her eyebrows at that last sentence. “No, Sectionals. Why are you acting weird?”

“I’m not.”

“You _are_.”

“I’m _not_.”

Despite Penelope’s claims, some of her word choices and actions have been just bizarre enough for Hope to slow their walk to a stop. She stares down Penelope pointedly, not pleased with how she seems to dodge all eye contact.

Yep, something is definitely going on.

“Maya said no secrets.” Hope points out and Maya, like the good friend she is, nods in agreement.

“Fine.” Penelope sighs guilty. “I might have locked you and Josie in a closet, but before you get mad at just me, Lizzie was in on the matchmaking, too. In fact, it was all _her_ idea.”

_“Hey!”_ Lizzie chimes in at Penelope’s accusation. “All I did was spill a drink on Josie and do some meddling.”

“Well, _you_ convinced Josie to wear that slutty schoolgirl costume to the party.”

“Yeah, and Hope clearly appreciated it. _You_ threw a slushie on my sister.”

“We’ve all thrown slushies on your sister.” Penelope tosses her hands up in exasperation, and then adds softly, “Sorry, Josie.”

Hope can’t believe what she’s hearing. When did everyone decide to butt into her love life? Also, when did everything get so dramatic? She can’t recall any other time in her life when people were so secretive and sneaky.

“You know I’m claustrophobic.” Hope can only sputter out this minor detail, not sure if she should be ready to kill someone or feel very grateful.

On one hand, all of the meddling led to her dating Josie. On the other, she openly cried in front of Josie (who was a practical stranger at the time), which is just about as humiliating as it gets.

Penelope looks at a loss, too. “I thought you got over that.”

Like in most situations, Hope’s brain settles on anger.

“How would I get over it?” Hope takes a small step forward, not really sure what she’s doing. It’s not as if she plans to fight Penelope in the middle of the sidewalk. She only has the energy to glare intensely. “You-“

“Wow, guys look.” Maya holds them apart with a hand on each of their shoulders, speaking as if she’s just spotted something amazing. “There’s the diner and the boys, who are watching us.”

The boys are sitting inside the diner, conveniently near a window that gives them a full view of all of the girls. They seem to be rather interested in whatever is going on with the girls, though there is no way they could tell why an argument is ensuing.

Sebastian waves at Hope from behind the glass and smiles cluelessly.

Hope and Penelope glance at each other and both realize how silly they’re being in an instant. Honestly, Hope isn’t angry enough to fight about this. She only feels mild irritation. Besides, fighting in front of Josie would be embarrassing, especially if she ended up losing.

(To be clear, she wouldn’t lose. She’s Hope Mikaelson, not some defenseless child.)

“Let’s just go get food.” Maya suggests and, after a second of consideration, everyone nods.

They walk the rest of the way in silence, only broken by a bell chiming when they enter. As soon as they are inside, a thick cloud of scents hit them - eggs, hash browns, bacon, and every other delicious breakfast food one could think to list. The boys sit up to greet them, but all of the girls seem more interested in food.

Hope definitely cares more about her hunger than Sebastian in that moment. She doesn’t hesitate to pick at his omelette instead of saying hello.

“Hey, sharing is caring.” Hope protests when he nudges her greedy hand away from his plate.

“Where was that attitude when I wanted a bite of your sandwich at lunch?” Sebastian counters.

Hope almost takes the bait to banter with him, but she catches sight of how Josie’s lips are more downturned than usual. It’s her inner guilt that sews her mouth shut. She itches to reach out and comfort or reassure Josie, but cowardice holds her back, as it always does.

Though she was brave in that motel room, she’s unable to show her courage here.

Thankfully, thoughts are as private as emotions, and no one seems to notice the internal battle that Hope feels so strongly. The conversation has passed her without her realizing it.

“What took you guys so long?” Sebastian questions, much too accusingly for Hope’s taste. He points at a spare drink, presumably meant for her. “The ice in your Diet Dr Pepper melted.”

Hope struggles to form a solid excuse. The other girls aren’t much help either, simply looking at each other cluelessly. Great. Five brains all trying to lie together and none of them can figure out a single good idea.

Maya abruptly changes her expression to form the most oblivious one of them all. “Wait, doctors can melt?”

Half of the boys gape at the question, while the other half stare at their plates determinedly, most likely not wanting to comment on Maya’s sudden stupidity. All of them seem uncomfortable, except for Ethan, who somehow manages to look disappointed through a mouthful of fries and a burger.

“We’re going to get another table.” Hope announces, eyeing how full their booth is. MG is practically in Kaleb’s lap. “Thanks for the soda.”

For once, she doesn’t make a show of calling Sebastian by an affectionate nickname.

Hope takes her beverage and retreats to another table with the rest of the girls, listening to one of the waiter’s instructions to sit anywhere.

_Anywhere_ ends up being on the other side of the restaurant, far away from the boys. They slip into a booth with Hope in the middle, so her thigh presses firmly against Josie’s. Hope fights a shiver as their arms brush together, goosebumps erupting all along her skin at the slightest of touches.

When a waitress comes along to drop off a set of menus, Hope struggles to flash a polite smile as she gets momentarily distracted by the inch of soft skin Josie teases her with under the table.

How can sitting together be so simple and yet feel so overwhelming?

Hope isn’t even sure if Josie is doing it on purpose. In fact, she looks perfectly innocent and appears to just be getting situated. Still, Hope’s nerves burn needlessly, always tuned in to Josie’s _everything_.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know. Act stupid.” Josie says, facing Maya.

“People like you more when they think you’re inferior. Especially men.” Maya shrugs and cracks open a menu. “Now, I want something other than a salad for once…”

————

School hits Hope with as much weight as a sumo wrestler. Not only has she had an exciting weekend, but she’s been unable to catch a good night's sleep in a while. Of course, she never allows her exhaustion to show clearly in her appearance. A little carefully applied makeup is all it takes to have Hope looking how she usually does: perfect.

Tuesday isn’t too bad. Cheerios practice hurts more than her classes, even though she does little to nothing the whole time. Actually, being unable to participate is why it hurts so much. It makes her feel like less of a captain.

Normally, Hope would be at the front of the line for laps. Now, she’s on the sidelines, scrolling through her phone and occasionally barking orders while everyone else runs.

In short, Hope is bored.

She has gone through several levels of Angry Birds when a notification pops up on her screen, the text message immediately bringing a small smile to her face.

_Look up_

It’s Josie. Hope raises her head curiously and peers around, spotting Josie a safe distance away, talking to Lizzie on the bleachers. She looks beautiful, more so because of her dazzling grin and the fact that she is here for Hope.

They have a date planned. Okay, so the date is hanging out at Josie’s house, but still.

**Stalker**

Hope looks over her shoulder, watching Josie roll her eyes at Hope’s teasing. The sweater Josie is wearing is bright yellow and big enough to nearly cover Josie’s thighs. If it were earlier in the year, Hope would lie and say that Josie looks like Big Bird, but now all she can do is stare lovingly in her direction.

“You’re supposed to be watching us.” Maya calls pointedly as she passes by, panting but somehow still having the energy to smirk at Hope.

“Sorry.” Hope shrugs, totally unapologetic. “You guys are so slow I thought my squad had been replaced by a pack of lazy snails. Pick up the pace, ladies!”

Some of the girls honestly might as well be crawling across the field. Maya huffs and drops her smirk, while the rest of the squad speeds up determinedly. At least Hope still has some authority, even with the cast.

When Hope returns her attention to her phone, she sees another text from Josie.

_You look so cute when you’re all bossy_

A dark blush attacks Hope’s cheeks, stealing control of her actions in seconds. Hope’s lips part involuntarily. She has to take a moment to pull it together, afraid of looking as dumb as a goldfish in front of her own squad.

“I know that look. Did you get a text from Sebastian?” Emily, one of the faster girls, asks, since she is already done with her laps.

“How’d you know?” Hope asks, acting as if she’s been caught. She slips into the role of the flustered girlfriend easily, because technically that’s exactly what she is. “He says he’s getting me a surprise gift. My bet is on jewelry.”

“Adorable. You guys are definitely winning prom king and queen.” Emily grins and leaves Hope alone, probably heading to go get water from her bag.

Hope releases a sigh of relief, though she’s pleased with Emily’s comment. Sure, the girl might just be trying to kiss Hope’s ass, but she knows most of the squad is already planning on voting for her.

She is going to have a crown on her head by the end of the year.

Penelope and Maya finally approach after what seems like forever, since they slowed down to walk together. They always do.

“Seb is getting you jewelry?” Penelope asks, leaning impossibly close to Hope to see her phone.

Hope pushes her away and shakes her head. Penelope has been unusually nosy lately.

“No, it’s Josie. She said I’m cute.” Hope glances down at her phone, uncertain. “What do I say back?”

“Tell her she has really hot earlobes.” Penelope responds, without missing a beat.

“Really?”

“Yes.” Maya nods, very seriously.

It seems weird, but okay. They’re the ones that have been dating for years. Hope begins to type in the response, stopping soon after when her friends start to laugh at her.

“I need actual suggestions.” Hope tells them dryly, unamused.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you would actually go for that. I mean, who has hot earlobes?” Penelope questions through her dying laughter.

They start to slowly walk towards the bleachers, Hope keeping her phone in her hands and the two other girls walking a bit faster due to their need for water.

Hope shrugs. “Josie has hot everything.”

“Barf.” Penelope stops mid eye roll when Maya nudges her in the side.

“Shush, I think it’s cute.” While Maya chastises Penelope, Hope stares at the grass under her and tries to hide her embarrassment. “Hope, you have to tell her something romantic.”

Once they reach their bags, Hope grabs hers and lifts it onto her shoulder. Maya and Penelope unzip theirs and hurriedly take out their full water bottles. Hope can’t help but bounce on her heels as she waits for them to finish, knowing she needs to come up with some sort of response soon.

Josie is _right there_. As in, Josie can see Hope standing around with her phone and not replying. Hope doesn’t want Josie to think she’s ignoring her.

Penelope caps her water. “I kind of like how clueless you are. I’m like your gay Yoda.”

“You’re not my gay Yoda. What even is a- you know what? I don’t need one.” Hope nods to herself, now determined. “I’m good at everything else, I can be good at this.”

“I really don’t know how Josie manages to kiss you without bumping into your ego.”

Hope ignores her, in favor of typing out a better, _spectacular_ text to Josie. At least, she tries to make it spectacular.

**You’re cute too**

Perfect.

The next few minutes aren’t nearly as eventful. Hope says goodbye to Penelope and Maya, who seem intent on showering together, and walks alone to the back of the school, where she waits for Josie.

She doesn’t have to wait long.

“Hi.” Josie beams at Hope as soon as she meets her.

“Hey.”

It takes every bone in her body not to swoon and say something mortifyingly affectionate. Lizzie is right behind Josie, somehow looking both happy and reluctant about having to ride in the car with them.

Hope feels the same way. She actually likes Lizzie (it’s weird, because a couple weeks ago Hope would be calling her batshit crazy) but she also sort of wants to makeout with Josie and that would be weird with a sibling around.

“Hey, Lizzie.” Hope greets lamely.

Lizzie nods at her. “Hey.”

It feels slightly awkward walking to the car, but Hope doesn’t really mind. She knows that this will end in alone time with Josie.

Josie fishes the keys out of her pocket, unlocks the car doors, and then rushes to open the passenger door for Hope. Hope smiles softly as she climbs into the offered seat.

“Wait, why do I have to sit in the backseat?” Lizzie asks, causing Josie to roll her eyes, as if this is a daily occurrence.

“Okay, if you want you can drive.” Josie’s voice drops lower, suggestive. “Then, Hope and I can sit in the backseat and-“

“La, la, la, I’ve gone deaf.” Lizzie plugs her ears and gladly hurries to the back.

Josie has a smirk on her face as she rounds the car, one of clear satisfaction. Hope’s throat bobs and her skin heats (hopefully not obviously), finding it hard not to dwell on the images Josie almost described.

The rest of the drive isn’t as exciting. They listen to music on the way there, so Hope spends most of her time distracting herself with trying to get the radio to play a song they haven’t already sung in Glee Club. She feels as if she knows all of the lyrics to every single classic rock song or show tune by now.

Last night, while in the shower, Hope powered through most of the Mamma Mia soundtrack. It took her an embarrassingly long time to stop herself from belting out to the catchy choruses.

If she isn’t careful, she is going to end up being an actual theater nerd. She already knows way too much about Barba Streisand and Patti Lupone.

What’s next? The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Nope. Hope has dignity.

“Good. We’re here.” Lizzie says, ditching them to disappear into the house seconds after they arrive.

Josie stares at her sister’s retreating back. “I still can’t believe Penelope and Lizzie were playing matchmaker this whole time.”

Hope inspects Josie momentarily before stretching her hand out over the center console and linking their hands together. Warmth seems to pour from their fingers, trickling all the way up to Josie’s face, which shifts to a deep, rosy color soon enough.

“I’m glad they did.” Hope admits. See? She can be romantic. Fuck Penelope and Maya.

Josie nibbles her bottom lip briefly, looking so shy and adorable all of a sudden that Hope physically has to stop herself from leaning in for a kiss. It requires far too much effort to hold back. Josie’s lips are wet and inviting, shining with some kind of lip gloss that draws Hope in like a beacon.

Hope pauses when she notices that she has leaned in without thinking, making it so there is barely any space between them. She backs up, remembering herself, but the way Josie is openly gazing at her mouth makes the action incredibly hard.

“You’re such a sap.” Josie clears her throat, the tint of her cheeks only darkening at how breathless she sounds.

“I love you.” Hope blurts for a second time.

Maybe she has self-control when it comes to her actions, but her words are a totally different story. She has simply lost the ability to close her mouth around Josie, confessions keep on stumbling out without a warning or a moment to think.

“You said it again.” Josie points out, not annoyed, more… shocked?

Hope frowns. “You sound surprised.”

“I am, a little.” Josie shrugs and falters under Hope’s questioning look. “It’s just… why would you love _me?_ ”

What the hell does that mean?

Hope squeezes Josie’s hand, tightening her hold until Josie finally looks up at her. Josie has too many emotions on her face to be readable, but the slight shame and self-pity are clear.

“What do u mean? How could I not?” She searches Josie’s expression, noticing that she seems more curious than anything. “Jo, you’re the best person I know. You’re brave and insanely kind, even when people don’t deserve it. You never give up on anyone. You lead the club without ever having to be cruel.”

Josie stares at Hope, something like admiration in her eyes. It’s so intense that Hope looks at their hands instead, now a little bashful, but continuing regardless.

“Every moment I spend with you is like…” Hope glances up, seeing how eager Josie is to hear the rest of her words. “It’s like I don’t have to pretend anymore. I don’t have to be afraid. I don’t have to be anything, really, I’m just… yours.”

It’s quiet for a while. Too long.

Hope glances at the house. “Sorry, that was really cheesy…”

“I love you, too.” Josie nudges Hope’s chin up, forcing Hope to reconnect their gazes. She keeps her fingers resting innocently on Hope’s jaw, although it feels as if she is touching Hope everywhere. Josie glances downwards, no doubt at Hope’s waiting mouth. “Can we go inside? I really want to kiss you now.”

“Yeah, yep. No objections here.”

They both run up the driveway and into the house, maybe a bit too excitedly. Josie has Hope pressed up against the front door in no time at all. The low thud of their bags dropping to the floor is an afterthought to the sudden intensity of their kissing.

Hope drags her palms down to Josie’s waist and tugs her in close. She doesn’t complain when Josie removes her hands, moving them so they are pinned on either side of her head.

Honestly, Hope is content with being caught in this moment for the rest of her life. Josie must have other plans, because she pulls away much too soon, causing Hope to follow after her lips embarrassingly.

“We need to talk about Landon.” Josie says and Hope blinks at her in disbelief.

That was not what she was expecting at all.

Some dirty talk, maybe. Something sexy. Landon is the farthest thing from Hope’s mind, especially while they makeout.

“I don’t understand. Are you trying to turn me off?” Hope frowns at Josie’s chuckle. She hadn’t meant to be funny.

For once, she doesn’t like how Josie has her wrists firmly pinned to the door. It makes her unable to continue their kissing, which might as well be the year’s greatest tragedy. They had only _just_ started.

Hope already feels as if she knows where this is going. Landon probably asked Josie to prom or simply on a date. She knows how Landon is. He may be unthreatening and sort of a dork, but he’s also fiercely persistent in a way that is usually unpleasant. Hope doesn’t want to hear about him trying to seduce Josie, just the thought makes her want to double over and vomit.

“Can we not talk about him? Please?” Hope’s hands slowly slip from Josie’s hold. She begins to convince Josie with short kisses, peppered along the sweet spots on her throat. “Let’s just have a week of no Landon, okay?”

“Okay.” Josie agrees.

Hope smirks against her skin and takes the opportunity to back Josie up, further into the house. Seconds later, their bodies knock against a wall, and the positions are reversed. This time, Josie allows Hope to kiss her properly.

Finally.

The second Josie gives Hope the chance to, Hope slips her tongue into the other girl’s mouth. Despite the sweet confessions earlier, Hope’s thoughts are less than innocent. Having to hold back all day has left Hope pent-up and frustrated, and the lack of exercise earlier only gives her more energy to forcefully rock her hips into Josie’s.

Josie arches up into the touch, perhaps just as desperate as Hope, not being shy about seeking out friction. She guides Hope’s head to her neck, impatient and borderline _pushy_ with her actions. It only makes Hope that much more eager to please.

Her teeth lightly scrape along soft skin, the pound of Josie’s pulse thundering against Hope’s mouth.

“I’m yours, too.” Josie gasps, almost whimpers, daring Hope to sink her teeth in. “Yours-“

“Hey, guys?” Lizzie calls from the kitchen, shielding her eyes with half of a sandwich. “I’m eating here. If you’re going to have sex, spare my ears and do it in Josie’s room.”

Well.

This is more than a little humiliating.

“We’re not going to have sex.” Josie protests, pouting, and Hope hides her own frown in Josie’s shoulder. She thought for sure that was what they were heading towards.

“Oh, yeah, sure. That’s why it sounds like I’m watching porn.”

Josie slips her shoe off of her foot and throws it in Lizzie’s direction. Lizzie dodges it narrowly, muttering something about horny lesbians and sex as she goes to another room. Once she is gone, Hope finally stops hiding herself and lifts her head.

The image that greets her is much too attractive for Hope to handle - a breathless Josie Saltzman, neck bared and reddening deliciously, evidence of Hope’s influence written all over her.

The heat lingering in Hope’s abdomen throbs roughly. She uses every ounce of her power to remove herself from Josie’s body, forcing herself to cool off now that she heard Josie’s words from earlier. They aren’t going to have sex just yet.

What had Hope expected? Sex in Josie’s living room with her sister in the house?

Okay, yes, so Hope’s brain _might_ have been going in that direction, but it’s partially Josie’s fault for clouding her judgement.

“Do you want to go upstairs?” Josie asks, and Hope knows that the question is now innocent, but she smirks, anyways. That only earns her a light slap to the arm and a disapproving look. “I meant to watch a movie or something.”

“Sure.” Hope agrees, pushing the smirk away for Josie’s sake, and going to grab her bag.

Instead of watching a movie, they play music (from a random broadway show Josie likes, because the club has corrupted their taste in music) and do meaningless, girly activities. Josie paints Hope’s nails a pretty red color, one that oddly matches Josie’s usual blush, and soon after that, Hope offers to put makeup on Josie.

It may be a lame excuse to climb into Josie’s lap while on the bed, but Josie doesn’t protest.

Hope hums along to the music as she works, occasionally stopping when she catches herself, only to continue again moments later. Josie sits relatively still under her. The only movement Josie makes is with her hands, which will brush against Hope’s sides every minute or so, for no real reason - maybe Josie just wants contact.

No complaints come from Hope.

Well, no complaints come until Josie starts to skim her fingers up Hope’s thigh. With Hope in her Cheerios uniform and the way she is perched on top of Josie, almost all of her leg could fall prey to Josie’s teasing.

“Stop it.” Hope murmurs, her focus on choosing some mascara. “I’m trying to concentrate.”

“Am I really so distracting?” Josie asks, a playful lilt to her voice, and Hope almost stops entirely.

There is no way she can get anything done if Josie is going to use _that_ voice with her hand so high up on her thigh. How is anyone supposed to get their brain to work around her?

“Yes, now stop before I accidentally poke your eye out.” Hope instructs. Josie giggles but listens, placing her hand on the bed.

All of this reminds Hope of spending time with the Cheerios. They do stuff just like this at sleepovers, minus the kissing and thigh touching. Painting each other’s nails, putting makeup on each other for no real reason, and giving each other makeovers when bored.

She is able to finish on Josie’s face in no time at all. Once Hope is done, she leans back to inspect her work and smiles at the sight that greets her. Josie was already gorgeous, but now she looks as if she became a fairy overnight. The sparkle on her cheeks is nothing short of magical, and the accentuated light in her eyes, made only more bold by the mascara, shines brightly.

“All done.” Hope sets everything down and steadies herself, one of her hands gripping Josie’s shoulder.

“You’re not going to put anything on my lips?” Josie touches them purposefully and Hope rolls her eyes, gladly taking the bait.

“Trust me, I am.”

Hope kisses her sweetly, holding Josie in place for one long moment before pulling away. She grins at the slightly glazed expression on Josie’s face and moves to stand, but is tugged right back down by Josie.

“No, stay.” Josie requests, leaning back until Hope is planted on top of her. “I want to cuddle.”

Josie twists her fingers in Hope’s hair and nearly lulls her to sleep, using careful, gentle strokes along her scalp and the nape of her neck. Hope is fully relaxed, nothing but a soft pile of flesh and bones by the time Josie breaks the comfortable silence.

“Say it again.” She whispers pleadingly, and it’s been a while, but Hope knows exactly what she wants to hear.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter is a lot funnier if you’ve seen the show, but oh well

Josie can’t be sure if Hope is awake or not.

The last half hour has flown by easily, both girls too comfortable to say a thing or pry themselves away from each other. Sure, sleeping with Hope right on top of her isn’t the ideal napping position, but Josie feels less strangled and more warm than anything, so she isn’t going to complain.

Her only worry is that they will either oversleep or Josie will wake up with a face full of horrible acne due to the makeup on her skin.

Besides, is it really a good date if they just nap together?

“Hope?” Josie trails her fingers delicately over Hope’s sides, tickling her hips, trying to get a sense of where Hope is on the asleep to awake scale. She gets no confirmation of either, only a tiny mewling sound and a slight shift of Hope’s body that could have very easily been done while unconscious. “Hope? Are you awake, baby?”

The first warm swipe of Hope’s tongue across her neck startles Josie enough that she releases a quiet squeak, half in surprise, half in pleasure.

Okay, definitely awake.

The warm press of kisses continues on a path up and down Josie’s throat. She feels Hope’s lips skate over her skin without much sense of direction, never latching onto one spot for too long. Josie sighs sweetly, her muscles relaxing at the gentle ministrations.

She stretches her head back to rest against the pillows firmly, offering up another inch of her neck to Hope. While Hope seeks out the extra space, Josie allows her hands to wander from Hope’s waist to the long span of her back. Her fingers glide over Hope’s spine through the polyester uniform briefly, then lift to brush over the curled, baby hairs on the nape of Hope’s neck.

Josie runs her fingers through the strands, loving how it feels when it’s out of that tight ponytail. Hope always looks so pristine at school, but here she’s a little more messy, spread beneath Josie’s palms.

A warm puff of breath hits Josie’s collarbone as soon as she scratches along Hope’s scalp. Josie digs her nails in a bit more intently, trying to invoke a reaction from Hope. As expected, Hope hums against her appreciatively, and Josie smirks up at the ceiling.

“You know what this reminds me of?” Josie asks, her voice unnecessarily soft.

Hope mumbles as she speaks. “If you say Ratatouille, I’m leaving you.”

Josie laughs freely, shaking the both of them with the action. That was exactly what was on her mind, but now she decides against voicing it. Hope would probably not appreciate hearing about being associated with a movie that has a rat as a main character.

It was a cute movie, though. Not as cute as Hope of course, but oh well.

Hope lifts her head and watches Josie as her laughter fades away. It looks as if Hope might have been sleeping earlier, after all. Her eyes are faintly pink around the rims, the edges slightly puffy like she hadn’t been quite ready to be fully awake yet. Josie brushes her thumb over the skin just under her eyes, feeling how soft and vulnerable it is.

Josie has the sudden urge to kiss Hope, and so she does. Simple as that. It’s almost odd, since everything leading up to their relationship has been terribly complicated.

This is easy. Tilting her head up the half-inch to meet Hope, moving their mouths together smoothly, dragging Hope in by the broad stretch of her shoulders. As the kiss deepens, Josie’s fingers flex along the muscle, rubbing out some of the tension she can feel on her palms. Josie must reach a knot in Hope’s shoulder, because Hope pants out an answering groan and rocks into her just barely.

“You’re so tense.” Josie comments and spreads out her fingers, experimentally pushing down on a tight spot. Hope reacts accordingly, her eyes fluttering shut at the action. “Do you want a massage?”

Hope nods, eyes still closed. “Mhmm.”

“Okay. Take your shirt off.”

“W-What?” Hope stumbles over the word, finally looking down at Josie. With the way Hope stares at her, one would think that Josie just informed Hope they would be filming porn.

“Take your shirt off.” Josie repeats, resisting a giggle. “So I can rub your back. Come on.”

Hope seems to come to her senses, because she crawls off of Josie, still on her knees, and fumbles with her Cheerios top for a moment before finally getting it off.

Meanwhile, Josie double-checks that her door is locked. Even though massages are pretty tame, she knows it probably wouldn’t look too innocent if Lizzie barged in on them.

“When do you get your cast off, anyways?” Josie asks as she nudges Hope onto her stomach. She crawls on top of her needlessly, careful not to crush her with her weight, but unable to resist hearing the surprised gulping noise that comes from Hope’s mouth.

Josie could have just sat beside her, but that wouldn’t be nearly as fun.

“End of the month, during Christmas break.” Hope replies. Seconds later, she twitches at the first touch of Josie’s hands to her skin. “Why are your fingers so cold?”

“Drama queen.” Josie murmurs, rubbing her palms together to heat them. She hadn’t heard Hope complaining earlier.

Josie sets her (hopefully warm) hands on Hope’s bare back, almost put in a trance by the firm muscle that greets her. She clears her throat of its heaviness and her mind of its less than pure thoughts, and starts to dig the heels of her palms into Hope’s shoulders.

Hope actually is really tense. Now that Josie thinks about it, she can barely remember a time she didn’t feel a knot or two under Hope’s skin.

For the next couple minutes, Josie puts her focus on her girlfriend’s wellbeing and not her own personal agenda. The occasional blush comes to her cheeks whenever Hope sighs lowly or arches up into Josie’s fingers, but otherwise Josie keeps herself from reacting too strongly. It’s a wonderful thing, feeling Hope relax beneath her, all of the tightness eventually loosening until Hope’s body seems almost malleable.

“That feels good.” Hope tells her at one point, reaching back and pulling Josie’s thumbs back to a spot between her shoulder blades.

Josie says nothing at all, but takes the instruction effortlessly. It’s easy to, with the husky tone of Hope’s voice echoing in her head. Why does Hope have to sound like that? It’s incredibly distracting.

It’s fine. Josie will just pay attention to other things. The golden trophies lining Hope’s shelves, the small stack of purple weights in the corner, the dark red of Hope’s bra- _shit_.

“You okay?” Hope questions. She twists her head to get a better look at Josie. “You seem… fidgety.”

_Fidgety_ clearly isn’t the right word, but Josie is glad Hope isn’t making an effort to embarrass her.

“I’m fine.” Josie lies, tracing Hope’s bra strap mindlessly. “I don’t understand how you go to Cheerios practice in lingerie.”

Josie feels Hope squirm under her and gets the sense that Hope wants to flip around. She sits up on her knees more, giving Hope space to shift onto her back. Once Hope is situated, she leads Josie down to her lap by the waist, planting her hands there.

“I don’t, usually.” Hope explains, shrugging.

“But you…?” She trails off, her eyes dipping down purposefully and coming back up just as quickly.

Josie has checked out Hope loads of times, she just isn’t used to doing it so obviously. That is exactly her point, though. Every time they had a bathroom confrontation or Hope would strip off her uniform top in front of Josie, she was always wearing some form of fancy underwear underneath.

Honestly, Josie is beginning to wonder if Hope knows what a sports bra is.

“Jo.” Hope chuckles slightly. “This was for you.”

“Oh.” Josie breathes, not sure what to say. The room is kind of spinning. She searches Hope’s face, as if the answers are there, and rushes to come up with something to say when she notices how shy Hope appears to be. “That’s not a bad _oh_. It’s a good _oh_. A very good _oh_. I just-“

“You’re so cute when you’re flustered.” Hope cuts her off in more ways than one, leaning forward to close the distance between them.

Their lips meet fervently, heatedly, all of the time spent dancing around each other for the last hour causing them both to dive into the action desperately. Everything about it is familiar, like they’ve done this for years, and yet Josie is caught off guard by the torturous craving in her stomach, the part of her that begs for Hope.

She gives up on being sweet and subtle seconds in, tilting her head to the side until she finds an angle that seems to satisfy both of them.

While Josie’s hands clutch at her waist, not sure if she should go higher or lower, Hope’s find their proper place far up on Josie’s inner thighs. Her skirt must be hiked up impossibly high for Hope to be touching her there. Josie moans at the obscene image, at the feeling of living in it, and rolls her hips forward.

Hope’s teeth scrape sharply over Josie’s bottom lip, probably accidentally, but maybe not, and the twinge of pain mixed with the rush of doing all of this could make her-

A phone rings.

Josie leans away reluctantly, putting about half a fist of space between them. She tries to focus on the ringing, tries to catch her breath, tries to get her mind and body’s attention on anything other than its own selfish agenda. Hope has other ideas, latching onto Josie’s neck as soon as it’s exposed.

“Ignore it.” Hope whispers against her throat, ushering away all protests with her mouth. “It’s not important.”

Josie nods, not needing much convincing.

She fights back a strangled moan when Hope flexes her fingers experimentally, teasing the sensitive skin of her thighs. Those same fingers become less hesitant, more insistent, but don’t raise any higher. They skate over Josie as if performing a dance, never coming as close as Josie wants them.

Forgetting all earlier uncertainty, Josie rakes her fingertips up over the ridges of Hope’s abs and cups her breast through the lacy material. The response she receives sparks something unbearably hot in her abdomen, Hope moaning so lowly that it sounds close to a growl.

The noise vibrates against Josie’s neck, accompanied by a particularly rough nip to her throat, the spot throbbing and tender under Hope’s mouth.

The words from earlier ring in her head - Hope promising that she’s hers, Josie doing the same shortly after. It rings in her head as she palms at Hope’s breast insistently, rings in her head as Hope sucks a collection of dark marks onto her neck, rings in her head as they both grow a little more possessive.

Rings, rings, rings…

“Hope.” Josie murmurs, dropping her hands from where they’d been practically worshipping Hope’s chest. “The phone.”

Hope scowls but finally reaches out to grab the device off of the nightstand. She manages to sound somewhat composed when answering the call, if a little pissed off and breathless, but mostly fine. Her face tells a different story, her swollen lips holding a deep frown from being interrupted (again) and the tops of her cheeks reddened considerably.

“Nothing. We’re watching a movie.” Hope lies, probably talking to her parents. She tilts her head as she speaks and Josie swallows, trying to fight the cloud of lust in her stomach that comes from seeing Hope’s unblemished throat. “The Rocky Horror Picture Show… yes, with Tim Curry.”

Josie listens to bits of the conversation she gets from Hope’s side, assuming either her mom or dad is asking about the movie they are supposed to be watching.

Would Hope kill her for kissing her neck while she’s on the phone? Probably.

It’s a horrible idea and yet Josie eyes Hope’s jaw, remembering how soft and sensitive the underside of it is. She thinks it’s unfair that Hope gets to keep her hands on Josie’s thighs and Josie has to sit there, keeping still.

She has _needs_.

Oh god, she does sound like a pervert. Damn it. Maybe that particular insult, while hurtful, was sort of true.

Eventually, Hope hangs up and sets her phone elsewhere. She looks less turned on now that the call has ended, the only lingering traces being her blush and the slight heavy puff in her breathing pattern.

Good for her.

Josie, on the other hand, has received no cool-down phone call from her family, and can only stare at Hope expectantly.

“I have to go.” Hope chuckles at Josie’s little whine and gives her one chaste kiss, refusing to further it despite Josie’s attempts. “Don’t look at me like that. I have to help with dinner. Drive me home?”

“Dinner?” Josie furrows her eyebrows and grabs her own phone, confused. “That would mean it’s been… three hours. Oh.”

She didn’t think that they had been kissing or sleeping for that long. It didn’t feel like nearly enough time.

“I’ll drive you home.”

It takes a minute, but they both make themselves presentable. Josie gets Hope’s top off of the floor and hands it to her bashfully, then proceeds to pick out a comfy scarf for herself, just in case Hayley or Klaus comes out to greet her. She has no idea how she would explain showing up at their house, looking as if she has been mauled.

Well, Hayley would probably understand, but that sounds absolutely mortifying.

Josie hasn’t spoken to her since she found out. Honestly, she doesn’t want to. Even if she were the trophy boyfriend Hope’s family imagined for their daughter, she was still caught making out with Hope, and that’s enough to keep her far away.

Relatively far away, anyways. Josie supposes she’ll just drive Hope there and stay outside on the street instead of going in to say hello.

They go downstairs together. Josie’s dad still isn’t home, but Lizzie is, and she snorts at the sight of Josie in her puffy scarf. Lizzie sits on the couch in the living room, watching Josie search for the car keys, while Hope stands there awkwardly.

Lizzie smirks and opens her mouth. “You know-“

“Say anything and I’ll tell dad about the time you ditched me at that party to makeout with a senior in the pool.” Josie tells her, without looking up, and sees Lizzie’s mouth snap shut in her peripheral vision. “I’ll be back in ten. Order from Breadstix or something.”

“Wait, Breadstix delivers?” Hope questions as Josie leads her out the front door.

“Yep.”

“Awesome.” Hope replies excitedly, going through the car door Josie has opened for her.

The car ride is uneventful. Hope takes over the aux cord for those short few minutes, playing a couple pop songs and some Fleetwood Mac. Josie swears she nearly crashes into another car twice. Once, when she gets distracted by Hope’s dedication to mouthing all of the lyrics and later, when Hope’s hand grasps a little high on her leg.

They get to the Mikaelson house unharmed, despite Josie’s mini almost-accidents.

“Call me tomorrow?” Josie requests, receiving a nod in response.

“Of course.” Hope smiles. “Text me so I know you got home safe, okay?”

“Okay.”

Hope slips out of the car with one last squeeze of Josie’s hand. The warmth of it seems to linger forever, Josie’s fingers tingling with the affection all the way home. When she gets back to her house safely, she fires off a short text to Hope and climbs the stairs hurriedly.

Minutes later, Josie finds herself standing under the cold spray of her shower, thinking that this week of no Landon is off to a rather amazing start.

————

The week of no Landon continues its streak of greatness.

On Wednesday, her dad falls sick with a small cold and the Glee Club earns a substitute in the form of Holly Holliday.

_Josie watches the woman slide into the choir room, moving with a certain slickness and youth her father doesn’t possess. It makes perfect sense, considering the woman looks as if she is barely thirty and dressed quite stylishly._

_“Hey.” MG whispers from behind her, right into Josie’s ear. Josie flinches at the proximity of his voice but still turns around. “Is it just me or does she sort of look like the hot blonde from Iron Man?”_

_“Gwyneth Paltrow?”_

_“Yeah.”_

_Josie turns her attention back to Ms. Holliday briefly, inspecting her long blonde hair and wide smile. Something about her is awfully familiar, but she’s not sure MG is right._

_“Nah.” Josie decides. “I don’t see it.”_

On Thursday, Josie realizes that she has gotten through most of the week without being hit with a slushie once.

_Josie tilts forward and taps Maya as soon as she is done writing her note. It takes Maya a second to spin around, probably not expecting Josie to interact with her in the middle of class, but she grabs the offered slip of paper without question or complaint._

_She waits while Maya reads it over and fiddles anxiously with the hem of her skirt when Maya smirks mischievously. Josie had only asked why no one had slushied her this week, she doesn’t think that warrants the look on Maya’s face. Still, Maya writes back and discreetly returns the note to Josie._

_It reads:_

_H told us not to. She specifically said that we were ‘embarrassing her and the entire Cheerios name by being so unfit and should focus on practice instead of bullying the inferior’. I think that means she cares about you._

_Josie smiles down at the note._

On Friday, Hope calls Josie very early in the morning, apparently on her way to cheerleading practice.

_“I had this weird dream you sent someone to a crack house.” Hope explains while Josie listens, still in her pajamas and buried under the covers with her phone to her ear._

_She twists on her back and stares at the ceiling, listening to the muffled rustling of Hope getting dressed on the other line._

_“That’s so weird. I had a dream you gave birth while Bohemian Rhapsody was blasting in the background.” Josie yawns and scratches the side of her face. “Oh, and you had a Ryan Seacrest tattoo.”_

On Saturday, Josie decides it’s time to finally stop avoiding Hope’s mom.

_Josie feels a little awkward, being pulled through Hope’s house, hidden behind Hope like a secret. She sort of gets the sense that Hope doesn’t enjoy mixing her family with their relationship, but they are bound to run into each other sometime._

_The town is small and besides, they’re teenagers. Their parents are always around, whether they like it or not._

_(Usually, not.)_

_“Look, it’s Yoda.” Josie cheers, scooping up the small animal before Hope can complain. “I’m never going to get over how cute he is.”_

_Hope huffs, rolling her eyes. “He isn’t that cute.”_

_Obviously, Hope is wrong. The cat is absolutely adorable, curling closer to Josie and releasing tiny mewls as she strokes along his back. She takes him to the couch and sits, placing him in her lap. Hope joins them, somewhat reluctantly, and glares down her pet needlessly while Josie continues to coo at Yoda._

_“Do you only love me for my cat?” Hope asks, after a while of Josie admiring Yoda._

_“Don’t say that.” Josie swats at Hope, using her free hand. “I love you for a lot of reasons. Plus, that sounds dirty.”_

_Hope perks up a little. “You know what else sounds dirty-“_

_Her words fall flat as they both hear the front door open. Hope sinks back into the cushion she had previously been laying against, deflating visibly at the presence of her mother._

_“Oh. Hey.” Hayley stares at them blankly, as if she hadn’t expected to see Josie here. Josie wonders if Hope was lying about her parents being okay with her here, but soon Hayley smiles and passes them by. “At least someone is paying attention to that cat, Hope won’t pet him.”_

_“Hope, be nice to Yoda.” Josie frowns at her until she can get Hope to crawl across the couch and finally pet the cat._

_Yoda hisses at Hope shortly after and she yanks her hand back, muttering about demon cats and stubborn girlfriends. Josie doesn’t stop laughing for a full three minutes._

On Sunday, Hope comes over after church just to mope and nap a little.

_“Is it really a date if we just sleep?” Josie wonders aloud, though she really isn’t complaining._

_Of course, Hope always looks pretty, but it’s different in this church dress. She looks sweet, almost wholesome. The white fabric reminds Josie of angels in the best way possible, and she has no problem with running her fingers over it again and again, nearly lulling Hope to sleep._

_“Technically, we are talking.” Hope points out. She shifts and ends up having one leg thrown over Josie’s, resting there like a blanket. “I called Freya yesterday. Her fiancé seems… nice.”_

_“That’s good.” Josie replies, not sure where Hope is going with this._

_“I think I want to go to the wedding. She said I could bring someone.” Hope sounds so shy all of a sudden, locking her arms so Josie is unable to turn and look at her face. “Would you maybe want to go? Some of my family is going to be there. My aunts and uncles, mostly.”_

_Her heart fills, warm and heavy with the sentiment._

_“I’d love to.”_

_Hope kisses the nape of her neck gratefully and Josie sighs in response._

On Monday, Hope kidnaps her.

The day starts off normally enough. Josie attends her classes, sits boredly in the back during some and attentively in the front seat during others. Mondays are always relatively chill, most of the teachers choosing to lecture the class instead of picking on random students for answers.

Ten pages of her notebook are full by the time Glee Club rolls around. Nine of them hold a lot of valuable information, written neatly, some of the details highlighted in bright yellow or pink. One page is pure nonsense, containing the last bit of ink from Josie’s sparkly purple pen. It’s mostly swirly letters and doodles, but the left margin has a pair of initials and names traced over and over.

_J.M._

_Hope Saltzman._

_Hope Mikaelson-Saltzman._

_Josie Mikaelson-Saltzman._

_Josette Mikaelson._

That page does not deserve to see the light of day, even if Josie _does_ think that last one sounds particularly nice to her ears. She even tries it on her tongue a few times, repeating it like a child with a crush, using her mouth to trace the words while she waits in line for food.

“Then, she had the audacity to look at _me_ like I was the idiot. Me. Once I’m officially a Cheerio, no one is going to…” Lizzie pauses, her facial expression creasing into a frown as she inspects her sister, who is still tossing the name around under her breath. “Did you just say Josette Mikaelson?”

“What? No.” Josie responds, much too quickly, blushing from the root of her scalp down to her toes.

“I think you did.” Lizzie sing-songs and snatches a pearly red apple from a basket like it is a grand prize instead of a fruit.

“Well, I didn’t.”

Lizzie smirks and bites into her apple, which she hasn’t officially paid for yet. “Okay, Mrs. Mikaelson.”

“Stop it.” Josie squeaks, two seconds away from clamping a hand over Lizzie’s mouth and hauling her out of the cafeteria.

The room is full of bustling teenagers, who could easily be eavesdropping. Fortunately, they all seem too busy searching for a spot to sit or their lunches to be paying any attention to Josie and Lizzie. Josie relaxes a little when she notices that no one they know is close to them.

If someone overheard, they would probably think Josie has a humiliating crush. Would that really be so bad? Technically, Josie does sort of have a crush. She thinks about Hope a lot, writes her name in her notebook, and has had multiple dreams about her.

Not to mention the _staring_.

Josie knows that she should stop, but she really can’t seem to draw her eyes away from Hope every time they’re in close proximity to each other. She just looks so pretty, all the time, with her ponytail and that Cheerios uniform. How is she supposed to concentrate?

“Ahem.” Someone clears their throat behind her impatiently.

“Oh!” Josie rushes forward, only now noticing the large gap she had put in the line. Lizzie raises her eyebrows, smirking. Why had she not said anything? “I’m so sorry.”

“Whatever, Trouty Mouth.” The boy responds gruffly.

Josie blushes, forcing her eyes to the ground. No one has insulted her in awhile. Since Hope backed off, most of the other cheerleaders did, too, and the Glee Club certainly wouldn’t be rude to her. Other people aren’t so kind.

She decides to focus on getting lunch, embarrassed more than anything else. How could she have forgotten she’s still the school loser? Sure, her sister is almost a Cheerio and she’s friends with multiple people on the squad and football team, but it’s not like someone can always be there to-

“You know,” Hope begins casually, forcing her way into the lunch line. “I’m surprised you can eat.”

Where had she come from?

Josie almost thinks that Hope is talking to her, but she recognizes that low, threatening tone to Hope’s voice and instantly knows it couldn’t be directed at her. No, all of Hope’s focus is on the boy who insulted her earlier, and she looks seconds away from murdering him in the middle of the cafeteria.

“I kind of thought that disgusting rat on your face would take all the food from you.” Hope continues, referring to the thick, unfortunate looking mustache on the guy’s upper lip. It moves up and down as his mouth opens and closes, his pale face reddening in embarrassment.

Obviously, he isn’t used to being spoken to by Hope. If he were, he would know it’s best to duck his head and disappear, but instead he stands there sputtering.

Hope raises her eyebrows, unimpressed. “Well, are you going to move? You’re in my spot.”

The boy practically pisses his pants as he scurries off, reminding Josie of a dog with its tail between its legs. She knows she should probably feel bad about Hope bullying some poor guy, but he had been sort of a jerk to her.

Besides, the way Hope so easily dismissed him without faltering once was kind of… hot.

“I fucking love her.” Lizzie comments, now taking out her wallet and sending Hope astonished looks.

“Oh, please. I barely insulted him.” Hope shrugs, her chin tilted up arrogantly, her focus now on getting a plateful of salad. “I could have easily knocked him on his ass. If anything, I was being nice.”

They speak without looking at each other, all of them pretending to be busy with their individual lunches. The person behind them is giving them a wide berth, all while glancing anxiously at Hope, standing too far away to hear what they are saying.

“You’re wearing a cast.” Lizzie points out.

“And?” Hope challenges, so cockily that Josie feels an unwanted pang of arousal.

No. Being mean and arrogant shouldn’t be attractive. This is bad. Josie will simply put her attention on something else, like lunch. She begins to scan the food options thoroughly.

Oh, look, lasagna. Also, chopped salad and some type of grey-tinted, greasy meat. Delicious.

“Are you okay?” Hope whispers, her body inclined to the side just barely, like maybe she wants to reach out and touch Josie. It seems all Hope is having is a salad, so she’s just been watching Josie fumble over random lunch items in a bad attempt to cool down.

Why does Josie always embarrass herself this way? Does she have no sense of self preservation?

“Yeah.” Josie shoves her plate out and the lunch lady puts a square of lasagna on it.

Lizzie nudges her, grinning. “Are you sure, Mrs. Mik-“

“Shut up.”

Josie is ready to start another food fight if Lizzie says a word about what transpired earlier. This is exactly what Josie was talking about. Her teenage life is horribly embarrassing. It seems everyone is out to mortify her, even herself. She can’t believe she said the words Josette Mikaelson aloud, in front of Lizzie.

Does she have a death wish?

Thankfully, Lizzie takes pity on her and pays for their lunches in silence. Josie waits around for Hope to finish buying her own lunch, trying not to look as if she is loitering, and they all head to the choir room together.

Actually, not together.

Hope walks separate from Josie and Lizzie, a couple feet in front of them, so it doesn’t seem as if they’re all actual friends or anything. Josie would roll her eyes at Hope’s antics, but this is actually one of the tamer details in the dramatic actions that make up Josie’s life.

All three of them get to the choir room around the same time, so it doesn’t really matter. Her dad is back from his sick week and the classroom no longer smells like Ms. Holliday’s expensive perfume. Josie can’t decide if that is a bad thing or not, because her dad sort of smells like alcohol and old books.

Alaric is already writing something on the whiteboard, but he doesn’t allow anyone to see it or start his lecture until everyone is there. Once the whole club is situated, he finally reveals to them what this week’s lesson is.

_Rumours_

Hope raises her hand. “Like the Fleetwood Mac album?”

“Exactly.” Alaric responds, looking a bit shocked that she knows that. Sebastian does, too.

“What?” Hope shrugs off their stares. “I can’t have interests outside of cheerleading and church?”

Both men leave her alone after that, Alaric explaining what they are doing and Sebastian tuning in to listen. Alaric goes on for a while about how it’s one of his favorite albums, but ultimately the assignment is just to do any song by the band.

He ends his explanation by saying, “Bonus points if it’s from _Rumours_.”

Everyone begins plotting which song they’ll perform. Most of them pull out their phones, presumably to check what songs are from the album, while Hope immediately takes her notebook out and starts jotting down ideas. Josie watches her do it, unable to help herself. She doesn’t need her phone, anyways.

Josie thinks she remembers a few of the songs off the top of her head. Hope hums them when it gets quiet, occasionally taps out the beat on random surfaces, and plays it a lot in the car. If she remembers right, than she already knows what song she wants to sing.

“Put your phone away.” Hope tells Sebastian, only minutes into the lesson. “We’re singing I Don’t Want to Know.”

“Alright, bossy.” Sebastian stuffs his phone back into his pocket.

Josie frowns. She has heard that song before, seen Hope mouth the words on numerous occasions. Of course, it’s a love song. Not a sappy, traditional love song, but a love song nevertheless. Josie suddenly wishes she wasn’t sitting so close to them.

She fixes her eyes to her lap and feels her phone vibrate against her thigh seconds later. Josie takes it out, feeling a little confused, since her father and all of her friends are right here.

It’s Hope.

_Don’t look so pouty, I have a song for you, too_

Josie draws her lip between her teeth, trying to contain her smile. She has no idea how Hope seems to recognize her emotions so easily or how she always knows where Josie is whenever she is in trouble.

Stalking? Possibly.

The rest of the meeting goes along seamlessly. Her dad spews out facts about the band which are only really noticed by Hope, who gets into an actual conversation with Alaric. It’s honestly a little strange watching them interact, but things are pretty regular besides that.

Josie finishes the remaining half of the school day without much fuss. The classes are the same, the people are even less interesting than usual, and, hours later, Josie is continuing her routine of waiting outside in the parking lot for her dad to pick her up.

Except, her dad doesn’t pick her up. Neither does Lizzie.

The only appearance Lizzie makes is when she rolls by Josie, in the car, having the window open but not the doors.

“What the hell?” Josie questions as she tugs on the handle. It doesn’t budge and Lizzie offers an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, sis. Hope’s orders.”

Josie barely has time to figure out what that means before Lizzie is speeding away from her, stealing her ride home and abandoning her at the school. She stares after the vehicle for a moment in disbelief, her mouth propped open slightly.

How is she supposed to get home?

Someone taps Josie’s shoulder and she nearly jumps a foot in the air, almost falling over until she notices that it’s only Hope.

“Lizzie just stranded me.” Josie informs her. She drops her gaze and raises her eyebrows. Why is Hope not wearing her cheerleading uniform?

Is that a picnic basket?

Hope offers a sheepish grin. “I know. Sorry. I have a surprise for you.”

“This is kidnapping.”

“Romantic kidnapping.” Hope returns, phrasing it as more of a question than an answer. “Come on, don’t be mad. I wanted to do something in honor of the end of No Landon Week. Your dad is tutoring someone and Lizzie will come back for you both once he’s done.”

Josie searches Hope’s face and tries to find it in herself to be mad. She can’t. Her only plans had been to go home and do some homework. This seems a lot more entertaining.

“Okay.”


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter really exposes me as a hopeless romantic

“Are you sure you aren’t a serial killer?” Josie questions, looking at the passing trees from inside the car.

Over the last ten minutes, Hope has driven them farther and farther into the woods. Josie wasn’t aware that Mystic Falls’ forest stretched on for this long, probably because she was part of the sane majority that didn’t choose to go on dates in the middle of nowhere.

Then again, Josie hadn’t gone on any dates before Hope (excluding that one time with Jade), so maybe creepy, secluded settings are actually the standard.

“No, you’ve caught me.” Hope replies dryly. “My goal all along has been to murder you.”

“Wow. I knew it. What’s your plan?” Josie tries not to smile, intent on keeping their sarcasm going.

Hope nods blankly. “Poison in the brownies.”

“You made me brownies?”

No response comes. In fact, Hope makes a point of staring ahead at the road, most likely trying to keep the rest of her true plan secret. Josie settles back in her seat. She already saw the picnic basket, so she has a pretty good guess of what is going on.

A breeze flows into the car through the open window, the air sharp and chillier than usual. It’s early in December, so the temperature is slowly beginning to drop. Josie loves it. She loves how Christmas is looming ahead, some of the shops in town starting to put up snowy, festive decorations.

What Josie doesn’t love is being exposed to the cold because Hope decided to take her on a surprise picnic.

Josie shivers subtly and pulls her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her bare legs. Maybe she should give up skirts for the month or at least invest in some stockings.

“Are you cold?” Hope glances at Josie worriedly.

“A little.”

She nods towards the backseat, her hands still situated on the steering wheel. “There‘s a jacket in the back.”

The jacket is slightly heavier than Josie guessed it would be, the material thick and important. It is made up of the school colors, yet Josie is sure she has never seen this particular style before. She flips it around to inspect the back and all of her questions are immediately answered.

_Mikaelson_ lies in bolded letters across the back, and under that _Head Cheerio_ is branded in a daintier font.

Wow. Really?

“Hope…” Josie bites back a giggle. “This is the cheesiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s limited edition.” Hope argues petulantly.

“It’s _bedazzled_.”

“Fine.” Hope huffs dramatically and reaches out to take the jacket back, barely able to grasp it with her cast on. “If you don’t want it, then I’ll-“

“No, no. I want it.” Josie really was only kidding. She isn’t going to pass up wearing something that has Hope’s name on it.

Josie tilts forward an inch in order to drape the material over her shoulders, then leans back as she slips her arms into the sleeves. Warmth and the lingering scent of grass surrounds her in an instant. Josie is caught off guard by how familiar the smells are, how comfortable she feels with the garment on.

It almost feels as if she is receiving a hug directly from Hope. Almost. Josie still prefers the real thing, but this is pretty close.

“I might have to steal this from you.” Josie just wants to sleep in it for a night or two.

“Oh, so _now_ you like it.” Hope snarks, amused. She steals another glance at Josie and her face noticeably softens. “Just don’t tell Penelope or Maya I let you wear it.”

“Why?”

Hope rolls her shoulders, appearing slightly uncomfortable. “It’s… special. Don’t mention it to any of the other Cheerios, either.”

“Okay.” Josie accepts Hope’s vague explanation. She has no problem with avoiding most of the cheerleaders, considering the majority of them seem to hate her.

They finally reach the destination Hope has been leading them to - a small clearing in the middle of the woods. It doesn’t look like much, just a plain of grass and wildflowers, but Josie feels the excitement all the same. Sometimes, Mystic Falls gets so painfully boring that Josie forgets there are parts of the town she hasn’t seen before.

Hope shuts off the car and is at Josie’s side seconds later, holding the passenger door open so she can get out.

“Thanks.” Josie murmurs shyly, still not used to being so blatantly pampered.

Holding the door open? Secret dates? Romantic kidnapping? Brownies? One would think Josie accidentally entered a romance novel.

Hope simply shrugs in response, though she looks more than a little proud of herself for all of this. The expression on Hope’s face is adorable, but fleeting, as she disappears to go sort through the trunk of the car. Hope returns, a moment later, with the picnic basket in hand and a couple of water bottles tucked under her arm.

They walk further into the clearing together.

“So,” Hope begins, wobbling slightly under the weight of her items and pretending as if she isn’t. “How was your day, Mrs. Mikaelson?”

Josie’s eyebrows nearly singe off from the heat that attacks her face.

“You heard that?” Josie asks, loudly, and Hope accidentally drops one of the bottles in her clear attempt not to laugh.

“I was literally _right there_.”

Josie blushes horribly, unsure what words could make this situation any less mortifying. They haven’t even been dating for that long and here Josie goes, rushing into marriage fantasies.

“Well, I… I was-“ Josie stammers.

Hope smiles tightly, her shoulders locked and trembling, her eyes seeming to glisten as if she is holding back the strongest fit of laughter in the world.

Josie pouts. “Don’t laugh.”

This, of course, is the exact thing that makes Hope laugh.

To her credit, she does it quietly, and tries to hide it by bending down to fetch that fallen water bottle off the ground. Josie shoves her before she can retrieve it and, due to Hope clutching Josie’s sweater desperately, they both go tumbling down together.

“You’re so mean.” Josie says, once she is able to slow her breathing enough to speak.

She raises herself up on her palms and peers down at Hope, immediately caught off guard by the sight of Hope under her. Unlike Josie, Hope is still chuckling breathlessly, her eyes alight with mirth and glee. The pretty sundress Hope put on earlier fits her so nicely, so innocently, that Josie’s lungs clamp down and stop working altogether.

It is very, very hard to stay mad.

In fact, the anger seems to fade away in seconds. Josie’s attention goes to Hope’s hair, twirling a strand around her index finger. Her heart bursts and rebuilds itself in the time it takes for Hope to regain her composure, smiling angelically up at Josie.

“Sorry.” Hope whispers eventually, sounding genuinely apologetic, and sits up on her elbows to close the gap between them.

Their mouths collide unhurriedly, the action slow and building, much like the opening notes of a song.

Hope sucks Josie’s bottom lip between her own, her tongue swiping over it gently, soothingly, like an apology. Josie hums at the pleasant contact and twists her fingers in the grass under them, her skin now warm for a different reason.

The kiss is sweet, but no less intense than the others. It burns Josie all the same, every moment spent with Hope heavy with love and importance.

Josie shifts her weight to her right hand and allows her left to wander, stroking over Hope’s stomach through the material of the dress. She does it without purpose, wanting just to feel Hope closer, but the way Hope squirms peaks her interest. She brushes her fingers over the spot again, this time applying more pressure, and Hope all but jerks against her.

Hmm. Interesting.

When Josie does it again, Hope very obviously twists sideways and (involuntarily) bites Josie’s lip, drawing blood.

“Ow.” Josie murmurs and licks the metallic taste from her mouth.

“Shit. Sorry.” Hope brings her thumb up to Josie’s bottom lip and pulls it away with the barest hint of crimson on her skin.

“It’s alright.”

Why is this sort of a turn-on?

Josie pecks Hope’s forehead, glad that it seems to smooth the guilt from her facial features. She ignores the tight coiling in her stomach and puts her focus on what just transpired, her mouth beginning to form a smirk as she thinks it over.

“Are you ticklish?” She questions. Her answer comes in the form of Hope turning pink instantly, but Hope still goes through the trouble of shaking her head and lying.

“No.” Hope breathes, her mouth adorning Josie’s lip gloss. “Of course not.”

“So…” Josie trails her fingertips over the dress teasingly, a grin stretching her mouth. “If I touch you _here_ , you’re totally fine?”

Josie runs her hand lightly over Hope’s side, resulting in Hope flinching a bit, but managing to nod as if she is unaffected. She keeps that up for a solid two seconds. The moment Josie applies pressure, Hope laughs and squirms wildly.

“Not ticklish my ass.” Josie mutters to herself, while Hope writhes beneath her, the sound of her breathy giggles filling the space around them.

This continues for a while. She has never seen Hope so unrestrained, wiggling around uselessly and grinning the way a child does - uncaring, free. In the privacy of her mind, Josie makes a mental note to remember all of the sensitive spots that cause Hope to laugh the loudest.

Eventually, Josie gives Hope a break.

“You’re…” Hope gasps, still trying to catch her breath. “Evil.”

“You love me.” Josie shrugs at Hope’s little glare, knowing it’s too tame for her to be actually mad.

“I _do_ , but that doesn’t make you any less evil.”

Josie ignores that, in favor of settling on top of Hope properly. She leans down until her head is firmly set in the crook of Hope’s neck and their fronts are pressed together. It isn’t long after when Hope wraps her arms around Josie, her hands tracing an unknown pattern along Josie’s spine.

“You know what this reminds me of?” Josie asks, exhaling heavily against Hope’s neck as she relaxes. She pretends not to notice Hope’s answering shiver.

“Please don’t say Twilight.”

Josie grins. “It’s just, with the blood and the field we’re in...”

Hope flicks Josie’s back and sits up, forcing both of them into a more upright position. Josie frowns when Hope starts to usher her off.

“Oh, come on.” She whines. “It was _one_ bad movie reference.”

“It was unforgivable, but I want you to move because I have picnic stuff to set up.” Hope explains and pokes at Josie’s thigh.

“Oh.”

Josie stands to allow Hope to lay out everything. She helps Hope spread out the large, checkered blanket, but Hope is too stubborn to let her assist with anything else, so she ends up sitting around while Hope puts out the food. In the end (after a very, very long while - Hope’s unpacking skills weren’t the best due to her having one free arm), part of the blanket is covered in water bottles, packaged brownies, and sandwiches.

“You didn’t have to do all this for me.” Josie says, as soon as Hope starts to unsubtly nudge a grilled cheese towards her.

“It’s a sandwich, babe, not a proposal.” Hope’s eyes flicker mischievously, no doubt recalling the whole Josette Mikaelson debacle. “Speaking of proposals…”

Hope searches the clearing for a moment, her eyebrows briefly pinched and then calm as she leans over to pluck a flower from the ground. Josie isn’t sure why Hope is killing plants on their date or why Hope tilts the flower out of Josie’s view so secretly, but she stays silent and patient until Hope returns to her.

“Close your eyes and give me your left hand.” She instructs, the flower now held behind her back.

Josie notices it isn’t much of a command. Most days, if Hope tells someone to do something, the words leave her mouth in a harsh manner. Now, her voice is hushed and almost pleading, her expression close to shy.

What is she planning?

Josie does as she’s told. “I really hope the whole serial killer thing was a joke earlier.”

Darkness overtakes Josie’s vision, but the world is still alive around her. She can hear birds chirping in the distance, maybe watching Hope do whatever it is she’s doing. Hope tugs at Josie’s palm, pulling it forward a bit more, and then something thin and slightly damp circles her finger.

“Okay, open them.”

Josie stares down at the makeshift ring on her hand. The stem has been twisted around her finger so the flower sticks out at the top, as brightly as any diamond, the petals pink and spread beautifully.

“Is it too much?” Hope implores nervously. “It’s too much, isn’t it? I’ll just take it back-“

“No, no.” Josie yanks her hand back, holding it to her chest protectively. She would fight a million dragons to keep this ring on her finger. “I love it.”

Love may be an understatement. She knows this isn’t an actual proposal and they aren’t anywhere near getting married, but it feels as if something has shifted in their relationship.

They hold eye contact for a moment, deep brown against startling blue, and an electric current runs through Josie’s body, inflaming the blood in her veins. Hope looks away first, but Josie doesn’t blame her. She feels so vulnerable all of a sudden, the simple gesture made intense and intimate by their own hearts.

“Eat the grilled cheese.” Hope clears her throat and lays beside her, most likely to skip out on any more eye contact.

Josie eats half of it, her stare unwavering on Hope. She thinks while she chews, trying to pinpoint the moment Hope went from cruel to lovely.

Had it been in that motel room, the first night they kissed? No, because Hope had been dismissive of her the next morning.

Oddly enough, Josie figures that this streak of kindness started with Hope shoving her against her bedroom door. That had been… heated, to say the least, but the moments following it had given Josie her first glimpse of the girl she knows now.

Josie joins Hope, laying between her spread legs and looking up to the sky. Despite the chilly weather, the sky is as clear and blue as ever.

“I don’t get you.” Josie admits, as Hope begins to thread her hand through Josie’s hair. “Why aren’t you this nice all the time? To everyone else, I mean.”

“I like you more than everyone else. You’re my favorite person.”

She gets the sense that Hope will only admit this now, in this quiet corner of the world. Josie shuts her eyes, imagining that she’ll never feel like this again with anyone else, and tying these emotions to her memory.

Her skin is peeled away, her bones are gone, and she is exposed enough for Hope to stroke directly over her heart.

“Hope? Would you sing to me?” Josie requests.

A pause.

Another booming thump from Josie’s chest.

And then—

_“For you, there'll be no more crying. For you, the sun will be shining.”_ Hope’s voice goes soft as she holds the note. _“And I feel that when I'm with you it’s alright. I know it's right.”_

The lyrics slip from Hope’s mouth and curl through the air, gentle as a breeze. Goosebumps raise along Josie’s skin, as if touched by the cold and angel wings all at once.

_“To you, I'll give the world. To you, I'll never be cold. 'Cause I feel that when I'm with you, it’s alright. I know it's right.”_

A bird flies overhead, the only other viewer of this moment, and circles them, as if somehow sensing the emotion caught between them.

Hope intertwines their hands. _“And the songbirds are singing, like they know the score. And I love you, I love you, I love you, like never before.”_

—————

Lizzie’s first Cheerios practice takes place the next day, at six in the morning.

Which means poor Josie is doomed to sit on the bleachers for a solid forty minutes, barely awake and huddling under a blanket that she stole from Hope. She is exhausted. The only saving grace is her extra, extra large cup of coffee and Hope pacing around in her cheerleading uniform.

Everything else about this morning sucks, from when she was so rudely dragged out of bed by Lizzie hours ago to the impolite glances some of the Cheerios keep sending her.

Honestly, Josie is discovering a newfound hate for the squad, despite her girlfriend, her friends, and her sister being part of it. All of the Cheerios, aside from Maya, Penelope, and Lizzie, seem to be utterly obsessed with Hope. Josie has no idea how she never noticed it before, because it’s so obvious now.

Every few minutes, one of the girls will trot over to Hope’s side for water and giggle profusely at anything Hope says. It’s less flirting and more desperately seeking out approval, but it still unsettles Josie when she sees one of the younger girls approach Hope with a **WWHMD?** (What Would Hope Mikaelson Do?) sticker.

It’s creepy.

Josie wonders how they’d feel about her dating their captain.

She spends an unhealthy amount of time entertaining the idea of marching onto that field and pulling Hope into a long kiss in front of everyone, but never actually makes a move to do it.

Sure, she’s a little jealous, but she’s not crazy.

Josie is sane enough to sit relatively still until the forty minutes are up and the squad comes off the field.

Most of them pass her without acknowledging her, but she receives careful nods from Penelope and Maya, a rather cheerful (yes, pun intended) wave from Lizzie, who makes a show of twirling around in her skirt for the fifth time this morning, and nothing from Hope. Hope seems too busy with her phone to even glance at Josie, which probably means…

_Did you see that flip I did?_

Josie rolls her eyes at the message. Sometimes, she forgets how much of a dork Hope secretly is.

**Yes, and you’re not supposed to be flipping with your cast on**

_But it was cool :(_

Josie barks out a laugh and silences herself a second later. No one is around to hear her, but she still feels a little awkward chuckling down at her phone like this. It must look as if she is some sad loser, sitting all alone twenty minutes before school even starts.

Whatever. It’s not like she was super popular before, anyways.

She types out a text back to Hope.

**Go shower**

_Fine_

A minute passes of the typing bubble popping up and disappearing a couple times on Hope’s end.

_Come join me?_

Heat encompasses Josie’s face at _that_ particular visual. She thinks it over for far longer than she should, before realizing how stupid she is being. What is she going to do? Hop into the shower with Hope and all of the other Cheerios in the locker room? Nope.

**We’re at school**

Josie pauses, thinking it over again, bracing one hand on the bleachers and the other on her phone.

**But I’ll take you up on that offer later**

She decides to move away from the field after that. It’s getting too cold, despite the insistent flame that now seems to be burning her insides. Josie stands and twists as she stretches, taking her (Hope’s) blanket and her backpack into the school with her.

The halls are mostly empty, except for a few students who got there early for one reason or another. Each of them spare her a tired glance in passing, none of them knowing Josie by name but actually acknowledging that she is a visible human being. It’s a nice change from being near the Cheerios.

One pair of eyes, in particular, linger on Josie for far too long, and she is much too sleepy to realize it would be in her best interest to run away.

“Josie, hey!”

No Landon Week is officially over.

“Oh, Landon.” Josie says slowly, as if she hadn’t just visibly flinched at his presence. She feels bad. Landon isn’t _that_ bad, but sometimes his crush on her is so obvious that it sort of makes her uncomfortable. “Hey. What’s up?”

Landon is on the floor, his knees nearly at his chest, an open notebook laying on his lap. The pen in his hand is drummed along the floor as he inspects her. Much like everyone else, Landon looks in need of a very long nap, but something else seems to pull at his eyes, something dark around the edges.

Josie can’t figure out what it is.

“Nothing much. I actually wanted to run something by you.” Landon pats the spot beside him, clearly wanting her to sit.

What could go wrong? Okay, a lot, but she has nothing to do for about fifteen minutes and Landon probably knows that. How could she say no?

Unable to come up with an excuse to leave, Josie plops down next to him. She leans against the wall and pulls the blanket more firmly over her shoulders, imagining that Hope is right there behind her, hugging her tightly.

“I’ve been writing some songs.” He admits through a nervous chuckle. Josie glances down at his notebook and he awkwardly splays his arm over the writing. “They’re, um, not very good. It just got me thinking that maybe we could write original songs for Nationals?”

Josie opens her mouth and closes it shortly after, when she realizes she has nothing to say to that.

“I wanted to bring it up with you first, since you’re the leader of the Glee Club.” Landon continues. “We’re never going to beat Vocal Adrenaline in skill, but they aren’t very creative. Maybe this could give us an edge.”

Weirdly enough, Landon is sort of right. Josie has seen Vocal Adrenaline perform on multiple occasions and, while they are pretty much flawless, they don’t have much heart. They all move as if strapped into one gigantic machine, as if they almost aren’t human.

Isn’t that what good music is supposed to be about? Emotions? Making others feel things?

While Josie agrees with him, she isn’t sure that the rest of the group would agree to the idea. Even if they did, they could very easily end up writing horrible songs. Josie wonders why they all keep calling her a leader when she isn’t certain about so many things regarding the club.

“Well, you’d have to show us your songs for us to perform them.” Josie points out finally. Good, that response doesn’t commit her to anything too crazy just yet.

Landon smiles at her dopily. “I was actually hoping we could write a song together.”

His expression is soft enough that one would assume she just announced that she is pregnant with his kid. This is exactly why Josie tried to run away a few minutes ago. This friendly conversation is suddenly making her uneasy.

“Oh, um-“

“Josie!” Lizzie calls, practically skipping down the hall, damp hair and all.

Truthfully, Josie never thought she would see the day that her sister would approach her in this outfit, sporting that overly tight ponytail all the cheerleaders wear.

Is Lizzie going to wear her uniform every single day now, like the other girls? Probably.

Goodbye Lizzie Saltzman’s fashion sense.

“Josie.” Lizzie repeats her greeting once she is standing in front of them. Her eyes slide to Landon. “Frodo.”

“Nice to see you, too, Lizzie.” Landon gathers up his things, clearly meaning the opposite. He gives Josie a small smile that she struggles to return before he goes.

Once he’s gone, Lizzie yanks Josie up on her feet. She runs her hands down her own sides, as if putting the uniform on display. It’s something Lizzie has done several times this morning, but this time Josie cracks a smile. She finds it a lot easier to be happy for her sister now that the sun has risen.

“You look nice.” Josie says, kindly.

“I look amazing.” Lizzie rocks back and forth on her feet, obviously excited. “I bumped into some girl on the way here and she apologized to _me_. She wouldn’t even look me in the eye. This uniform works wonders.”

Josie isn’t too sure about that, but she doesn’t object when Lizzie puts an arm around her and starts to guide them both to her locker. It quickly turns out that Lizzie is right. The people who met Josie’s gaze earlier now look away after their first glance, cowering at the sight of Josie’s company.

She isn’t sure she likes it.

The rest of the day is more or less the same. If Josie walks through the halls without Lizzie, people accidentally bump into her in their rush to get to class or occasionally make eye contact. With Lizzie, almost everyone points their head down and clears a path for them to walk through.

By the time lunch and, by extension, Glee Club rolls around, Josie is thinking a lot about Hope. She wonders if this is why Hope is so obsessed with popularity. Josie definitely sees the appeal now, having no one dare to mess with you or throw an insult your way.

Maybe Josie should become a cheerleader. She would consider it, if she were able to stretch far enough to touch her toes.

“This has been the best day of my life.” Lizzie states boldly, while they’re on their way out of the cafeteria and to the choir room.

Josie raises her eyebrows. “Better than that one time at Disneyland with Caroline?”

“Better.”

“Better than that day with the hot guy from Chipotle?”

“Better.”

“Well, I’m happy for you.” Josie replies finally, amused by the excited glimmer on her sister’s face.

When they reach the choir room, Josie’s eyes immediately catch on Hope’s. The simple action takes her breath away. Had Hope been staring at the door, waiting for Josie to enter? She hopes so.

The words she texted earlier ring in her head - _but I’ll take you up on that offer later_ \- and she swallows noisily before going to her usual seat in the front.

Her dad is already there, though he doesn’t have much to say, since he announced the lesson for the week yesterday.

“Does anyone have any songs prepared yet?” Alaric asks, scanning the room.

Maya raises her hand and, after some hesitation, so does Penelope. They both stand when Alaric calls on them, so Josie guesses they planned a duet.

Alaric gestures to the middle of the floor. “Go ahead, girls.”

The beginning notes of the song are strung on a guitar. Josie hears Hope suck in a sharp breath quietly, probably recognizing what song it is before everyone else.

Josie is confused for all of ten seconds, then she is simply staring in awe at the both of them, because Penelope and Maya are singing a love song. Actually, the song could be interrupted in different ways by different people, but Josie knows the truth.

It’s pretty obvious.

Penelope almost cries when she sings, _“I've been afraid of changing, ‘cause I've built my life around you.”_

Obvious is gradually becoming an understatement.

No one says anything once they’re done. Josie gets the sense that everyone sort of knows now, but no one is planning on saying it in case they’re wrong - like assuming an overweight woman is pregnant. It’s better to stay silent.

Finally, Ethan leans over to Rafael. “I wish you and I were that close.”

Rafael gives him a strange look and tilts his wheelchair in the other direction, now seeming thoroughly confused with Ethan’s intentions.

“That was great, girls. _That_ is the kind of emotion we need if we’re going to win Nationals.” Alaric claps his hands together and ushers them back to their seats. “Anyone else have a song?”

Again, no one says anything. It’s only the second day and usually people are wary about being one of the firsts to go.

Just when Alaric seems ready to move on, Landon raises his hand.

“Okay, Landon. Go ahead.”

So, Landon goes ahead.

He stands in front of everyone, but is mostly set nearby Josie. She assumes that it seems that way because her seat is in the front, but she also swears that he glances at her several times.

This seems… bad.

Josie can’t be sure what is going on, but soon he is rather awkwardly getting to his knees in front of her.

Oh.

“This is Say You Love Me.” Landon meets her eyes, stammering slightly. “By Fleetwood Mac, obviously.”

Oh no.

The next four minutes are excruciating. Landon spends all of them on his knees, at one point trying to take her hand in his. Josie tries to look anywhere else, avoiding the deep shine of emotion in his green eyes. Looking elsewhere turns out to be almost as bad as watching him.

Lizzie and Maya keep on glancing between them, horrified, while Penelope has her palm over her mouth to keep from laughing. Most of the others appear to be a little confused, MG’s arms crossed in a somewhat protective stance, and Hope…

If looks could kill, Landon’s limbs would be scattered across the school.

Anyone within a twenty mile radius could see that Hope is absolutely livid. Josie has never seen anyone in the entire world look so angry, it almost seems as if Hope’s skin is tinting red from the force it takes to not interfere. She can only steal two glances at Hope without seeming too suspicious and those are enough to convince her that Hope is going to stab the boy.

The first glance reveals that Hope is trembling slightly, her cheeks unnaturally red. The second glance reveals that Hope’s eyes have the power to shift from blue to black in seconds, sort of like a demon.

Landon is going to die.

Overall, Josie is just embarrassed and extremely uncomfortable. Every time he reaches out to her or stares at her intently while practically begging her to love him, she shrinks in on herself. The smaller Josie seems to get, the more Hope grows, as if she plans on protectively shielding Josie’s body sometime soon.

In the end, Landon smiles at her, unaware of the chaos he’s just created. “So, Jo. Do-“

“Ow, you’re crushing my hand.” Sebastian complains, prying himself from out of Hope’s hold.

Landon pauses as he looks behind Josie briefly, presumably at Hope or Sebastian, and then continues, using that same nickname again.

“Jo, do you want to go to prom with me?” He questions, still on his knees, tilting much too close to her.

Is he serious?

“Um.” Josie blinks, convinced this is the most awkward moment of her life. “No.”

He actually appears surprised, even lingering in front of her as if he didn’t hear her right. It soon sinks in that she rejected him. Josie sees the exact moment when it happens, because confusion crosses Landon’s face quite obviously before he returns to his seat.

Josie is still reeling. What the hell was that? He knows that she’s dating Hope. Even if she wasn’t, they barely speak to each other. Why would he assume she would say yes?

All of these thoughts and more run through Josie’s head for the rest of the meeting. She can’t figure out why he would do this and, more so, she has no idea what Hope will do once they aren’t in front of a teacher. Josie doesn’t try to look at Hope anymore, partially worried that she will find Hope sharpening a knife or something.

This is bad.

This is very, very bad.

“Alright, everyone.” Alaric says, waving his hands dismissively once the bell rings. “Try to come up with songs to sing.”

Landon trudges out the door, resembling a kicked puppy, his emotions written clearly across his face. Hope is the opposite. She barely looks at anyone when she leaves, stalking out of the room and staring blankly ahead.

“Well, that was a train wreck.” Lizzie points out needlessly.

Josie says nothing in response, instead choosing to follow after Hope. She gets out into the hall, but Hope is nowhere to be seen. Josie suspects she went to a bathroom, but the exact one is unclear.

They really need a better meeting space.

Someone taps her on the arm. Josie turns to see Landon behind her. The letterman jacket does nothing to hide how awkwardly his shoulders are hunched.

“I-“

“Why did you do that?” Josie gives him no room to speak. The words retreat down his throat in one loud swallow and she pulls him aside, lowering her voice for Hope’s sake. “I thought you said you were cool with Hope and I dating.”

Students pass by them, sparing them both an odd glance or two. Josie releases his arm, intent on never touching him again.

“Yeah, for a little while, but you know we’re going to end up together.” Landon responds bluntly.

Josie takes a step back and Landon takes a step forward, the hopeful gleam in his gaze guiding him closer.

“I get that you’ve changed your mind about being with me, and that’s fine, change it, because I’m gonna work that much harder to change it back.”

She stares at him in disbelief.

“That’s… really creepy.” Josie murmurs finally.

Landon seems confused. “What? No, it’s romantic.”

Josie backtracks, making a guess about what bathroom Hope is in, and taking several steps away from him. She can’t do this. She has her next class in a few minutes, though she figures she’ll skip it again because of Hope. Certainly not because she wants to walk down the hall with Landon following closely after her.

“I just don’t understand how you’d date someone so cruel. She bullied you for _years_.” Landon presses, ignoring how Josie tries to march on without him. “And I thought you had a crush on me, like, two weeks ago.”

She stops, the bathroom door right beside them, and grasps the doorknob. “You don’t have to understand, it’s none of your business.”

Josie opens the door.

As if led by fate, Hope is sitting atop the line of sinks. The bathroom seems empty, which Josie isn’t surprised about, because Hope would probably look pretty scary in anyone else’s eyes. Anyone in their right mind would run, but Josie is too stupid, too in love, to be afraid of Hope anymore.

Fear is the last thing on Josie’s mind when she approaches Hope. She stands between the other girl’s legs, more concerned than anything else when Hope struggles to meet her eyes.

“Hope?”

Josie tries to hold her hand, figuring that’s a good way to start, but Hope flinches away from her. Hope leans forward, seconds later, to press their foreheads together reassuringly, though she keeps her hands hidden in her lap.

“Are you okay?” Josie touches where Hope lets her. Her hands end up resting on Hope’s hips. She receives a short nod in response, but no words. “What’s wrong with your hand?”

“I have a cast.” Hope replies, trying for a joke that immediately falls flat.

Josie gently tugs at Hope’s hand again, and this time Hope allows her to flip over her palm. Her knuckles are several shades darker than the rest of her hand, painted bright pink. The skin is too warm under Josie’s careful thumb, and she doesn’t miss how Hope fights a wince at the slightest bit of contact.

“Did you punch someone?” Josie questions, racking her brain for who it could have been. Landon had been with her, so that option is off the table.

“No.” Hope says, then quietly adds, “I hit a locker.”

Josie sighs, partially in relief, but also in worry. She isn’t sure what to do, but Hope’s saddened expression begs her for a hug silently, so Josie’s arms encircle Hope while the school bell rings in the background.

“I can’t believe he did that.” Hope mutters against her collar. “I guess No Landon Week is really over.”

Her breath gets caught in her throat as she inhales, knowing her confession will come with her exhale. Josie shouldn’t wait any longer. It would be wrong, she’s already extended their agreed upon week of peace.

“About Landon…” She clears her throat, failing at finding the words and floundering for a moment. Best to just get it over with. “He kind of… knows about us, but I didn’t tell him, to be clear. He told me at Regionals and I didn’t say anything because you didn’t want to talk about him. He went through your phone that day you broke your arm.”

“He went through my phone?” Hope echoes.

“Yes.” Josie nods and dislodges herself from the hug. She doesn’t get too far. Hope grasps at her top with weak fingers and Josie stays planted in front of her. “But he’s not going to tell anyone. I honestly don’t know what he was doing today, with that song.”

“So… he knows we’re dating and he still asked you out?” Hope reiterates, eyebrows raising slowly.

“Yeah.”

Josie’s gaze scatters Hope’s face, frantically, trying to gauge how angry she is. Hope doesn’t appear to be angry. She stares back at Josie blankly, unmoving, her eyes not wavering in the slightest.

This seems bad.

Right?

Right.

Josie would prefer for Hope to be angry, or for her to at least express some sort of emotion. The lack of feeling on her face is enough to make Josie squirm, unsettled. Hope has always been a little hard to read, but this is different somehow.

For several long seconds, Hope says nothing.

Then, she slides off the sinks. “Okay. I’m going to the cafeteria.”

Dumbstruck, Josie stares at her own reflection, until the words register, along with the fact that Hope is lightly nudging her away. She stumbles back at first, confused, but soon rushes to block Hope from leaving the bathroom.

“What?” Josie grasps Hope’s wrist. “Why?”

“The cafeteria has knives.”

Josie would laugh, if it weren’t for the completely serious look on Hope’s face. She sputters when Hope tries to get past her again, this time holding her by the waist and pulling her further into the bathroom. Hope goes willingly, though Josie notices her shooting glances towards the door, as if she might make a break for it.

“You can’t _stab_ Landon.” Josie tells her, the smallest of smiles cracking across her face.

Sometimes, Hope is so overdramatic.

“Who said anything about stabbing?” Hope blinks, pretending to be clueless. “I was thinking of cutting off a finger or two.”

_“Hope.”_

Hope grins secretly, leaning close enough to brush their noses together. The shiver that rakes through Josie’s body is entirely involuntary.

“I’m kidding.” Hope assures, though Josie isn’t totally convinced. “I will have to do something, though. He went through my phone and, worse, he embarrassed you. That’s not okay.”

“You’re not worried that he’s going to out you?” She questions as she leads Hope back over to the sinks.

Josie checks Hope’s knuckles again, pleased to see they aren’t broken and the striking color from earlier is fading away. She turns on the closest sink and guides Hope’s hand under the cool spray, accidentally wetting her own fingers in the process.

“Landon isn’t _that_ much of an asshole.” Hope says firmly, with the certainty of someone who has known someone else for years. “I just don’t know what’s gotten into him lately.”

She wonders if she should tell Hope more, if she should talk about what transpired in the hallway minutes ago. It doesn’t seem like a good idea. Josie gets the sense that the only thing between Hope and killing Landon is herself and the inevitable murder charges.

That reminds her…

“Have you ever thought about getting help for your anger issues?” She asks more than suggests, not wanting to push too hard too soon, and turns the sink off.

No pressure.

Hope simply tilts her head, inquisitive. “Like therapy?”

“Exactly.”

“No.” Hope laughs humorlessly, gathering paper towels for the both of them. “My parents would never go for it. Therapy would mean admitting something is wrong.”

“But something _is_ wrong.” Josie points out.

“Well. Yes.” She admits, with great difficulty. “But I’m fine overall.”

Josie has no clue what to say to that, mostly because those two statements almost directly contradict each other. Hope hands her a torn paper towel, both of them silent. It takes her a minute of hand-drying to gather her thoughts enough for a proper response.

“You know, it’s okay to not be perfect all the time.” She hands the clump of towels to Hope, who tosses them in the trash.

“I know.” Hope acknowledges seriously, a rough tone laced into her voice. She brightens soon after, making a poor attempt at holding Josie’s hands with her cast and closing some of the space between them. “For the record, you calling me not-perfect isn't very romantic.”

“What would you have wanted me to say?” She asks playfully, as Hope lays gentle kisses around her cheeks.

“That I’m beautiful and so, _so_ hot, and you can’t wait to get into the shower with me.” Hope grins, looking at her expectantly, and Josie laughs until the noise is swallowed up by a chaste kiss.

“Fine.” Josie fixes her expression into a serious one. “Hope, you’re beautiful and so, _so_ hot, and I can’t wait to get into the shower with you.”

“Thank you, that’s all I wanted to hear.” She smiles, softly, her eyes dancing across Josie’s.

It isn’t clear who leans in for a kiss first. It doesn’t matter, in the grand scheme of things. All that truly matters is this - Josie threading her hands through Hope’s hair, Hope sighing contentedly into her mouth, the world around them growing blissfully warm. Josie leans back so slowly that, for a moment, she feels as if she is caught in Hope’s gravitational pull once again.

(Has she ever left it?)

Once Josie comes to her senses, she giggles breathlessly. “We are _really_ late for class.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope sings Songbird and Penelope and Maya sing Landslide, both by Fleetwood Mac. 
> 
> Also, the ‘change it’ line is from the show (not Glee, Legacies). It’s almost a direct Landon quote.
> 
> Just want to let everyone know I’m going to respond to all of the comments soon and I really love reading your feedback. Any guesses on what will happen in the last ten chapters?


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the last Hope POV chapter so... goodbye glee au Hope

“Hey, prom queen!”

Hope pauses on her way out of the locker room, turning towards the familiar voice and spotting Sebastian strolling up to her with a coffee in hand. She smiles at the sight of him. She isn’t sure if she’s happy to see her friend, if she is happy because of what he called her, or if she is just glad he is playing the role of the perfect boyfriend.

The Cheerios flood out of the locker room behind her, giggling quietly at Hope and Sebastian, tossing around words like _cute_ and _prom royalty._

Sebastian grins once he reaches her and pulls her aside. “I got you a Christmas present.”

“Thank you, but it’s not Christmas yet. I haven’t won prom queen yet, either.” Hope reminds him, though she doesn’t protest as he gets out the gift.

She may be a little greedy.

“But it will be soon.” He’s right. Christmas is in a week or so, and the break starts tomorrow. “And I got a peek at the list of prom nominees. We’re both on it.”

“No surprise there.”

“Actually, _some_ surprises.” Sebastian murmurs, failing to clarify.

Hope wants to ask what he means by that, but a couple of the Cheerios have stopped to watch this interaction, and she figures she should take the present he keeps on trying to hand her. She accepts the small box from him, pleased to see the logo of a jewelry company on the front, and tries to look extremely excited about opening it.

Don’t get her wrong, Hope isn’t ungrateful. She is actually very grateful that he would go as far as to buy her something nice. He didn’t have to. It’s just awkward to do it in front of a waiting audience of girls who clearly want her to cry out of joy over a bracelet.

An insanely expensive looking bracelet.

“You didn’t have to…” Hope stares down at it, her reaction accidentally genuine.

The little charms on it glimmer beautifully under the dim hall lights. A few of the girls nearby are _aww_ ing pretty obnoxiously, which would ruin the moment if Hope and Sebastian were actually capable of having a _moment_.

Penelope, Lizzie, and Maya are just rolling their eyes. Haters.

“I know.” Sebastian says much too loudly, most likely for show. “I did it because I love you.”

Hmm?

What now?

Hope goes deaf all of a sudden. Part of her mind tells her that this is just a strategic move, a step in their plan to snag prom king and queen. That same half of her mind instructs her to throw herself into his arms and repeat the words back to him, but half of her mind is only half of her mind.

“I…” Hope tries. She really does.

Josie rounds the corner, coming down the hall to meet up with Lizzie, and the other half of Hope’s mind _screams_. More importantly, it screams _no_.

This is so embarrassing.

People are watching. Not just Josie, but Sebastian looks a little uncomfortable with how long the silence stretched on and her squad is now staring at her expectantly.

She should be able to do this.

“I…” Hope begins, again, but never finishes. This wasn’t in the plan. He didn’t call her in advance to discuss things first, the way they did everything else. She supposes Sebastian didn’t really need to, because they’re just words, but- she _can’t_. “You too?”

Fuck. Fuck. Damn it.

It surprises her completely. Hope can do a lot. She can be cruel, she can make out with Landon Kirby for long periods of time without gagging, she can lie to herself and everyone else for years and still look flawless doing it, but she can’t say three words.

What is wrong with her?

Sebastian raises his eyebrows but puts the bracelet on her wrist and pulls her into a hug. She distantly registers him kissing the top of her head affectionately and wants to cry out of guilt. If he can commit to the act, why can’t she?

“Are you okay?” He whispers. Thankfully, the crowd seems to be dispersing now that the show is over. “You looked like you were going to have a stroke.”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? I didn’t think you would-“

“It’s _fine_.” Hope cuts him off, more sharply than she meant to, and sighs. She wishes she wasn’t such a bitch to people she likes. “What were you saying about surprises?”

Fortunately, Sebastian allows her to move past that mortifying moment, and steps away from her. He twists his head to the side, looking back at where Josie and Lizzie are chattering nearby, before dragging her even farther away.

If Hope were less distracted by being hauled down the hall by a football player, she would notice how Josie’s lips downturn at Sebastian being so touchy.

When they stop at the other side of the hall, he leans down close to her to tell the secret.

Hope sniffs the air. “Are you wearing perfume?”

“Of course not. That’s my very manly cologne.” Sebastian lies, seeming taken aback. Hope gives him a disbelieving look, causing him to sigh. “My mom sprayed some on me on the way out this morning, okay? Tell no one.”

“Is that the secret? That you smell like a forty year old woman?”

Sebastian scowls at her. “No. Josie Saltzman got nominated for prom queen.”

“What?”

“It makes sense, now that I think about it.” He continues, but Hope doesn’t think it makes an ounce of sense at all. “People know Landon asked her out and she said no. Football season may be over, but he’s still the quarterback. No one rejects him without getting some buzz at this school. Plus, it doesn’t help that she’s kind of hot, like-“

“Don’t finish that sentence.” Hope snaps, still reeling, but aware of her surroundings enough to know she doesn’t want to hear someone else talk about how hot _her_ girlfriend is.

Sebastian raises his hands in surrender.

When Hope thinks about it, she figures this is partially her fault. She’s the one who stopped bullying Josie and got others to stop doing it, too. She’s the one who got Lizzie a spot on the Cheerios. She’s the one who made Josie… popular?

No, that’s not the word. If Josie were popular, than Hope would know about it. She figures it’s more Landon’s little stunt that got Josie attention and now she’s branded as ‘the girl who rejected the quarterback’, which is not the worst title in the world.

Of course, Head Cheerio is better, but Hope isn’t going to start competing with Josie. Shit. This means she has to literally compete with Josie in January, when everyone starts campaigning.

Consider Hope’s good mood officially gone.

“Don’t worry. I don’t think Josie and Landon will beat us.” Sebastian assures her.

“Josie _and_ Landon?” Hope questions, not enjoying how he groups their names together.

Sebastian nods. “Well, yeah. Landon got nominated for king, too, and he told me he’s not done with Josie yet. He’ll probably get her to say yes to a date eventually.”

Hope bites her lip so hard she thinks she might draw blood. The way Sebastian describes it, like Landon plans on pestering Josie to death, makes her want to track down the boy and slice him in half. How dare he not accept Josie’s rejection? Is he a kindergartener? Is it so hard to understand that no means no?

In moments like these, it is easy to fall back into old habits. It’s easy for her to think up something horrible on the spot, led by jealousy and anger and every bad emotion in the world that seems to be her best friend.

She forces a sweet smile onto her face and looks up at Sebastian pleadingly. “I need you to do something for me.”

“Sure, anything.”

Hope whispers her request into his ear just as the bell rings. He nods to show that he heard her and hugs her once more before they part ways, both of them going a different direction.

Her first class of the day is with Josie. Hope thinks that’s for the best, because the tightness in her chest immediately unravels at seeing the girl. Something about Josie always calms her down and sends her into a frenzy all at once. Her heart stutters wildly at the mere sight of her, but the anger also dissipates in an instant.

Josie’s smile is like sunshine, happiness, and gold mixed together, and Hope could proclaim that she loves this girl a thousand times without a second thought.

It almost pains her to take her seat, pointed away from the bright light that is Josie Saltzman.

Hope has her phone out in no time, only pausing for a second to check that the teacher is still setting up everything for class. Her desk mate isn’t here yet, so she opens up the ongoing conversation with Josie and types a message.

**You look pretty today**

Purely because she can’t help it, Hope twists around in her seat, acting as if she is cracking her back, and steals a glance at Josie. She gets a glimpse of the rosy color on Josie’s cheeks and the pleased glint in her eye. It has Hope rushing to quickly type another message.

**Do you want to hang out tomorrow?**

_Sure <3_

That’s a heart. Josie sent her a heart. Hope’s skin flames, heat greeting her face like an old friend. She clears her throat and puts her phone away as Maya enters the classroom.

What is she, a schoolgirl with a crush? God. Hope needs to pull it together.

“So.” Maya sets down her bag and slides into the seat beside her. “I heard you’re in love with Seb?”

“Don’t start.” Hope warns, but it’s been years since Maya was genuinely afraid of her.

“At least the bracelet is nice. The charms match your eyes.” Maya taps her wrist. Hope hadn’t noticed that before. “How’d you even get him to agree to all of this?”

“I told him he’d win prom king.” Hope lifts her shoulders subtly, shrugging.

“How are you so sure you’re going to win?”

Hope gives her a dry look.

Who the hell is going to beat her? Josie? Hope doesn’t think Josie will be interested in winning, especially with Landon, and she doubts any of the other nominees could hold a candle to her.

Thinking Maya needs a reminder, Hope holds up her fingers to count on. “I’m captain of the Cheerios and the Celibacy Club. I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m dating the hottest guy in the entire school. I’m-“

“Insanely egotistical, I know.” Maya interjects, causing Hope to scowl. “What if you lose?”

“I’ll just beat the girl with the crown.” She shrugs again, until she catches Maya’s slightly disturbed look and rolls her eyes. “I’m kidding. Kind of.”

The speaker above them crackles and pops as someone begins to speak over the PA system. The voice sounds a bit scratchy at first and Hope nearly stands up on her chair to hear better. She wants to hear her full name ring clearly through the air, not muttered because some asshole can’t speak up and-

Okay, so maybe Hope is taking things too far.

“Hello, Mystic Falls High.” The voice booms at the end of the sentence, sounding better than before.

Hope settles down some. Maya rolls her eyes beside her, watching Hope like she’s being really weird or something. Why does no one else think this is important? It’s _prom_. It’s a big deal.

“You know what time it is. Prom royalty nominations, folks. Let’s see who was voted for…” The voice trails off, probably checking a list. “Alright, kings first. William Black, Rick Nelson, Sebastian Hayes, and Landon Kirby.”

One of the boys, William, is sitting in the back. A couple people around him clap and pat his shoulders to say congratulations. They’re too loud. Hope is glad that the person talking over the speakers has the sense to pause and give everyone a chance to finish cheering.

“Now, the part that everyone cares about.” The announcer continues. “Prom queens. Penelope Park, Maya Machado, Hope Mikaelson, and Josette Saltzman.”

God, it feels good to hear that.

Pride swells in Hope’s chest. Sure, she knew she would get nominated, but knowing beforehand and actually hearing someone announce it to the whole school is different. Hope stays silent for a minute, basking in the sound of everyone’s kind words and cheers. She would say this is the best feeling in the world, but that would be a lie, since she kissed Josie Saltzman.

Still. This definitely takes second place.

In all of the excitement, Hope feels free to turn and look at Josie again. Josie’s cheeks are noticeably flushed as she fumbles over her words, stuttering out a thanks to everyone who compliments her.

“Wait. What the fuck? How did that happen?” Maya taps Hope’s shoulder.

Hope can’t answer right away because she has to thank a few people around her. Once she’s done being polite, she turns to Maya. “It’s ‘cause of Landon. Sebastian explained it to me earlier.”

“That doesn’t…” It seems as if Maya is going to say _that doesn’t make sense_ , but she figures it out soon enough. “So, what, Landon got everyone to vote for her?”

She nods. “Pretty much.”

“How’d Sebastian get a look at the list early?” She asks next. Huh. Hope hadn’t thought about that.

“I don’t know. Bribery? Intimidation?”

The teacher eventually quiets everyone down, but Hope feels the buzz of the morning for the rest of class. It actually takes effort to wipe the grin off of her face. Besides her inability to lie about loving Sebastian earlier, this day is going perfectly. She got nominated, Josie is adorably flustered, and her plans for Landon are going to pan out wonderfully.

Hope just has to wait.

Once the end of class comes, Hope gathers her things and heads out into the hall with Maya. It takes about ten seconds for Penelope to seek them out and stare at Maya adoringly, so Hope decides to go elsewhere.

Elsewhere, meaning to the bathroom with Josie.

“We should really stop meeting like this.” Hope jokes, noticing the bathroom is blissfully empty.

Josie barely laughs at her joke. She has her nose scrunched up, eyes unfocused, head tilted in confusion. Hope imagines that she has looked that way for all of class, since the nominations.

“Am I dreaming or did I just get nominated for prom queen?” Josie asks, seemingly to the floor.

“You’re not dreaming.” Hope assures. Josie’s pure confusion is more than a little amusing, but understandable. “It’s not that surprising. You’re pretty amazing.”

She doesn’t want to say that Landon laid some kind of claim on her (Hope’s blood boils again at the thought) and got Josie elected last-minute.

Josie laughs self-deprecatingly. “Other people don’t think so.”

“Other people are idiots.” Hope replies, her tone firm. She leaves no room for argument. She will not have Josie talk about herself like she is anything less than magnificent. “And besides, clearly that’s not true, since they nominated you.”

Josie blinks, as if in a trance. Her gaze is glazed over, almost not looking at anything, but her head is tilted in Hope’s direction. She searches the brown irises for some sign Josie hasn’t disappeared back into her thoughts and finds none.

“I could win prom queen.” Josie says, astonished.

“Okay, well. Let’s not go that far.” Hope chuckles lightly, hoping Josie won’t take offense.

Earlier, Hope had said that if she didn’t win she would beat the girl who did. If that girl were Josie, Hope isn’t sure what she would do. Of course, she wouldn’t hit Josie, but she doesn’t think that she would be very happy about it either. It’s a terrible thought to have. As Josie’s girlfriend, she should be excited about all of Josie’s achievements.

Something about prom seems to make her irrational. Also, rude and, as Maya mentioned in class, pretty egotistical.

Hope is aware that she might sound like an ass. Thankfully, Josie isn’t glaring at her yet, so Hope takes her chances and steps in front of Josie. She backs the brunette up against the sinks and smirks when Josie finally snaps out of her trance, noticing their positions and turning faintly pink.

Hope kisses her blush, just to see it grow. When she leans away, she gets a full view of Josie’s grin.

“What? Scared I’m going to beat you, Mikaelson?” Josie teases, her fingers locking behind Hope’s neck.

“Not at all.” Hope is glad that Josie is responding to all of this well, choosing to joke around with Hope instead of starting an argument. “I’m going to win, no question about it.”

“So cocky.” Josie giggles quietly, lowly, her voice falling to a whisper.

The fingers at her neck apply pressure, drawing Hope forward. She goes willingly. Josie does a tiny hop to get herself on top of the sinks, which puts Hope at a disadvantage due to their heights. It’s a bit embarrassing to realize that she has to get on her tippy toes to reach Josie’s lips, but the trip upwards is definitely worth it.

Josie’s mouth is warm and inviting, her lips undeniably soft. Hope leans into the kiss, all thoughts of prom slipping from her mind. She savors what she can before reluctantly pulling away.

This is a school bathroom, after all. Someone could barge in. They don’t have the best history with keeping secrets.

“We have class.” Hope reminds Josie gently. She would much rather stay here for the next hour and kiss her senseless, but they already missed multiple classes doing that same thing.

Still. It is really, really hard to resist when Josie follows after her, lips first, and presses their hips flush against each other. The action accidentally pushes Josie’s skirt up obscenely high. Hope’s throat bobs noticeably as she swallows and tries to be polite about pulling it back down, but the breathy response she gets has Hope freezing, her fingers on Josie’s thighs.

Her grades are going to suffer.

“You’re so hot when you’re like this.” Josie must be intent on ruining Hope’s impeccable work ethic.

“Like what?” Hope questions, eager to hear the reply.

She notices that while she has to get on her tippy toes to reach Josie’s lips, the position they’re in puts her at the right angle to kiss Josie’s neck. Their upcoming classes become an afterthought, the slow bob of Josie’s throat lulling Hope into a trance.

Sebastian’s words from earlier float through her head, the thought of Landon putting a claim on Josie having Hope ready to maul Josie’s neck with her mouth. She goes as far as to entertain the idea of kissing Josie in front of him, partially to make a statement, but also for her own enjoyment.

The warning bell rings.

Hope blinks her possessive thoughts away, but does not stray from her spot in front of Josie. She still wants to hear the answer to her question.

“Oh, look.” Josie chirps. “The bell.”

“But…” Hope almost pouts. Almost. She thinks pouting makes her look like a child.

Instead, Hope hums in disappointment as Josie pushes her away. She can’t really complain aloud, since she knows this is for the best. They would have gotten carried away, and now they only have two minutes to get to class. It would be best not to distract each other.

Hope will just ask Josie about it later.

As they step outside of the bathroom, they come across Landon. Correction: slushie-soaked, pissed off Landon.

Yay!

Hope’s plans are foolproof.

“Wait, wait!” Landon shouts, bits of ice chunks caught in his mouth as Sebastian and another boy from the football team pull the letterman off of Landon’s body.

Double yay.

Josie glances at her and Hope schools her expression into one of innocent surprise, trying to hide her sadistic tendencies.

“Sorry, bro.” Sebastian grabs one side of the letterman jacket while the other boy holds the other. “We can’t have you walking around in this jacket and humiliating the team by wallowing over girls like that. It’s pathetic.”

The boys rip the jacket in half. Literally. It splits down the middle, almost perfectly, and Sebastian tosses one of the halves at Landon, who sputters through the slush.

A strong sense of satisfaction hits Hope in a wave. She struggles to stay composed while Josie looks between her and the incident going on right in front of them curiously. Maybe a better person would feel bad, but all Hope can think about is Landon, on his knees in front of Josie, calling her _Jo_.

It’s impossible to feel remorse.

Landon, blinded by the slushie, swings his fist at the two boys. It hits nothing but air. The second time he tries it, Sebastian catches Landon’s arm in his hand without much effort.

“Come on, man. Don’t embarrass yourself.” He says bluntly. Hope chose a great fake boyfriend.

This has been the best day ever.

—————

The luck continues into the next day.

Hope stands on Josie’s porch sometime in the afternoon, smoothing out her outfit. She isn’t wearing anything too fancy, just jeans, a belt, and a tight-fitting top, but she spends so much time in her uniform that anything other than polyester feels a little off to her.

Plus, Hope wants to look nice for Josie, although Josie must not share the same sentiment.

“Um. Is that a… reindeer sweater?” Hope blinks at the design, wondering why Josie would buy something so ugly. She is genuinely confused for a moment before she remembers what time of year it is. “Oh! You’re wearing an ugly Christmas sweater.”

That makes sense.

Josie stares back at her, offense written all over her face. Hope’s genial expression drops. Shit.

“What do you mean? You don’t like the sweater?”

“No. It’s- it’s really…” Hope stammers uselessly, unable to find the right words. “It’s nice. Really. It. Uh-“

Amusement shines in the depths of Josie’s eyes, halting Hope’s idiotic stuttering. She soon realizes that Josie was messing with her and frowns. She had felt guilty just a second ago and was mildly worried that Josie wouldn’t let her into the house at all.

“I was kidding.” Josie clarifies, at last.

Truthfully, Hope’s annoyance is gone the minute she spots the bright white of Josie’s teeth and the puff of her cheeks, but she continues to glower.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Josie giggles. Her hand clasps around Hope’s wrist and yanks her forward.

Hope goes stumbling into the house after Josie and her horrendous sweater, ending up caught between the sweater and the door in an instant. She is less concerned with Josie’s clothing choice when she can’t see it, her eyes shutting as their lips connect.

The kiss never deepens the way Hope wants it to. She finds herself just as cold as she had been in the bathroom yesterday, abandoned by Josie’s mouth once again.

“Lizzie is still here.” Josie explains, holding Hope at a distance. She seems far too amused with Hope’s blatant desperation.

Hope has the sudden urge to kick Lizzie out, but this isn’t her house and she doesn’t think Josie would be too pleased if she did that. The idea sits in the back of her head, anyways. Tempting.

Josie guides her to another room by their joined hands. Hope’s head shifts left and right, in search of Mr. Saltzman, who never seems to be home with his daughters.

The living room is a mess, to put it simply. Boxes cover most of the floor, some of them stacked on top of each other or left open. Shiny objects peek out from inside the cardboard - ornaments, tinsel strings, a tiny Santa hat, and a handful of framed photos. The tree competes it all, stretching high enough to brush the ceiling, but lacking any decorations.

Hope walks farther into the room, peering into every box curiously. The Saltzman decorations are similar to her own (glimmering golden and red balls, crappy ones made during elementary school, the whole shebang), but also different.

Part of Josie’s life is captured right here, seventeen holidays encompassed in around twenty boxes. Hope is thrilled by the idea of sorting through each one.

“Do you want to decorate the Christmas tree with me?” Josie asks.

When Hope turns around, she spots Josie, who is now wearing the Santa hat Hope saw earlier. How could she say no?

“Sure.” She agrees easily. If she blocks out the sight of that sweater, Josie looks really adorable right now, wearing her red skirt and stockings. “I’m actually a pro at decorating.”

“Really? I would have guessed you’d be too short to reach half of the tree.” Josie smiles smugly.

Hope is short. Haha.

“Whatever, giraffe legs.”

“Hey!”

They continue like this for a long time, working on the tree while teasing each other. They move in tandem, passing the decorations back and forth, and occasionally pausing to bicker over what should go where.

It almost feels like they’re married. Hope loves it.

At some point, Josie offers to get Hope a step stool after Hope fails to hang an ornament properly, and then continues to laugh so hard that Hope just _has_ to kiss her. She swallows Josie’s giggles with her mouth, feeling as if she is tasting sunshine and the world’s greatest anthem all at once.

That’s how Lizzie finds them, wrapped up in each other, making out against the Christmas tree.

“Lizzie!” Josie squeals when she finally notices her sister trying to sneak by them. “Why are you always lurking?”

“ _Lurking_? I live here.” Lizzie promptly gives up on acting as if she didn’t see anything.

By now, Hope is done with being embarrassed. They’ve been interrupted so much that Hope is used to them winding up with an audience.

“Anyways, I’m off to meet MG.” Lizzie tells them. Finally. “If dad asks, I totally stopped to help with the tree before leaving.”

“Okay.”

Hope walks away from the siblings’ conversation, in favor of looking through some of the boxes while she gets the chance. She sorts through one Josie seemed to be hiding earlier from her. At first glance, she can’t find anything too embarrassing. There are decorations, of course, some knickknacks, and…

“Oh my god. This is the cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire life.” Hope gasps, grasping the picture of baby Josie in her hands.

Now that Lizzie is gone, Josie comes back to Hope’s side. Her eyes widen as soon as she sees what Hope is holding.

“That’s so embarrassing.” Josie burns dark red and tries to get it back, but Hope dodges her, giddy.

The photo is of Josie, maybe less than a year old, in a yellow outfit that is stained with baby food. Despite her unruly appearance, young Josie is grinning at the camera, clearly pleased by whatever is going on around her. Her cheeks are humongous, lips puffy, eyes just as pretty and brown as ever.

“This is my favorite photo ever.” Hope announces and dances around Josie, who seems less mortified and more shy now.

“Hope…” Josie whines.

“I’m being honest.” She assures. To make it fair, Hope takes her phone out of her pocket and scrolls through her camera roll. She hands Josie the device once she’s found what she was looking for. “Here.”

“You’re so tiny.” Josie points out, in awe, now preoccupied with her own picture of baby Hope.

They spend a fair amount of time inspecting the smaller versions of themselves. Once both of them are done cooing like mothers over the pictures, they swap. Hope gets her phone back and Josie gladly takes back the framed photo.

“Let’s put up the star.” Josie suggests and Hope nods. It’s easy to find, glimmering amongst everything else.

The problem comes when Hope realizes that she can’t reach the top of the tree. She pauses, star in hand, and glances between Josie, the step stool, and the tree. Hope has way too much pride to use the stool, but she figures out a quick solution.

“Here.” She hands the plastic star to Josie. “It’s your house, you do it.”

Josie raises her eyebrows, skeptical, but shrugs shortly after. “Okay.”

Crisis averted.

Hope tries not to look displeased while Josie leans up on her tippy toes and situates the star on the tip of the tree without a fuss or help from the stool. She is dating a giant.

A giant in a very short skirt. Hope averts her eyes respectfully, not wanting to leer at Josie’s legs or ass. Nope. Hope definitely does _not_ leer, not for a single second.

She decides to look elsewhere. The floor, the boxes, the decorations. Her eyes narrow at a familiar plant among the ornaments.

Mistletoe.

Smirking, Hope plucks it out of the box. She returns to Josie’s side with it held high above her head.

“Well, if I must.” Josie says, like it’s such a chore, and then eagerly presses her mouth to Hope’s.

Hope mirrors the eagerness, her arms winding around Josie’s waist to pull her closer. She will never tire of kissing Josie. Even as the heat of her mouth becomes as familiar as the back of her hand, it is still just as exhilarating as the first time they did this - maybe more so. The first time they kissed, Hope had been so nervous that her actions were almost jittery, now she holds Josie with confidence.

Josie moves similarly. They kiss unhurriedly, as if they have all the time in the world. Maybe they do. Everyone else is finally gone, no one here to stop them.

The thought has Hope grinning from ear to ear. It forces them to break away from each other, but again, it’s okay. All the time in the world.

“What?” Josie questions at seeing Hope’s smile.

“Nothing.” Her grin doesn’t dim one bit. In fact, it spreads as Josie begins to mimic it. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Hope reconnects their lips before Josie can say anything else, content with hearing those three words echo in her head.

In the daze of soft skin and sweet kisses, Hope forgets that they are surrounded by boxes. She pushes at Josie’s hips insistently, only thinking of finding a wall or something to hold Josie against. They get three steps back before one of them trips over a box and the both of them tumble to the ground.

The universe hates Hope. Even when they’re alone, something interrupts them. Maybe this is karma.

Then again, maybe it isn’t so bad. Josie _does_ land on top of her.

Worse things have happened.

“Ugh.” Hope grumbles, brushing the fallen tinsel off of her face. She thinks some got in her mouth.

“Don’t be such a Grinch.” Josie responds, only for her eyes to light up a second later. “We should watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Sure, no kissing, then, just a hairy green man on the television screen.

Hope doesn’t complain as Josie drags her up and to the TV. She knows she is just being horny and bitter. She actually likes this movie and, more so, she likes how excited Josie is about watching it.

The cuddling is nice, too.

Josie ends up leaning heavily into Hope’s side, their fingers laced together. She can feel Josie’s smile on her shoulder, the bulge of her cheek prominent and adorable.

“Watch the movie.” Josie instructs, when Hope tries to look at her for the fifth time.

“You’re more entertaining.” Hope replies, but fixes her eyes on the screen, anyways.

She tries to focus on the movie. She really does. Hope pays attention to it for a solid half hour, putting up a valiant effort, but Josie is insanely distracting. Josie keeps on shifting, every couple of minutes, her hands brushing against Hope in a way that immediately drags Hope’s brain away from the plot.

Sometimes, Josie even mouths along to a line or hums the tune of one of the songs. How is Hope supposed to look away?

“Stop staring.” Josie says eventually, poking Hope’s side. Hope squirms, ticklish.

“I’m not.” She lies, searching for an excuse to hide the fact that she was gawking at Josie like a lovesick fool. “I’m just distracted by that horrible sweater.”

Josie pulls away completely and Hope sits up, following after her, a frown already forming on her face. The frown only deepens when Josie sets a hand on her shoulder and nudges her back against the couch. It seems as if the temperature in the room is dropping, Hope’s skin chilly without Josie near.

She fears that the cuddling is over, especially with how Josie is stopping her from coming any closer.

“What are you-“ The words fail Hope, or more accurately, Hope fails the words.

Josie pulls at the hem of that atrocious sweater, tugging it up and off swiftly. She throws it to the floor, while Hope gapes uncontrollably, caught off guard by the sudden display of bare skin. Her pupils dilate, blue thinning to black, eyes trailing over the red and green bra.

Christmas colors.

Had Josie planned this?

“Better?” Josie asks, smirking slightly, and Hope decides that she probably did.

_Better_ is an understatement, but yes—

“Mhmm.” Hope hums, nodding vigorously, and all she hears is Josie’s light giggle before she sees and feels the brunette crawl forward, into her lap.

Josie cups Hope’s jaw, thumb brushing the side of her face, and Hope watches _something_ flash in Josie’s eyes before they’re kissing. Hope’s hands trail up over Josie’s legs, settling on the curves of her hips.

She slips a wanton tongue between two full lips, Josie opening up for her instantly. Their mouths never part from where they’re connected, only shifting this way and that, drawing quiet sighs and soft moans from each other.

It doesn’t take long for Hope to travel down to Josie’s neck. She skims across everything at first, not sure where to start, but Josie places an encouraging hand in her hair and guides Hope to her pulse point. Hope can’t deny her anything. She longs to please her, to feel Josie arch against her, and, soon, Josie does just that.

Hope nips at every sensitive spot she knows by memory, soothing the skin with gentle pecks right after. Each kiss causes Josie to push against her more vehemently, squirming or grinding down when Hope is particularly rough with her.

Josie’s hands brand her like hot iron, clawing at the fabric of her shirt and tugging it off almost frantically.

“Jo, my cast.” Hope reminds her, forcing Josie to slow down enough to carefully roll the sleeve over the cast.

Once the shirt is completely gone, Josie checks her out quite obviously. Hope thought that she may feel self-conscious, being observed so closely, but with Josie still panting and flushed from their kisses, it’s hard to focus on much else.

“You’re beautiful.” Josie whispers, in a low, husky tone that Hope has never heard before. She loves it.

Christmas is becoming her favorite holiday.

“You stole-“ Hope stammers, her mouth not fitting around the words properly as Josie unexpectedly drags her fingers down Hope’s stomach. “You stole my line.”

Hope has no chance to say much else, met with another searing kiss. The feel of their bare skin sliding against each other is intoxicating, the way their chests knock together nearly driving Hope insane. Meanwhile, Josie’s hands hesitantly trail lower, down to her belt buckle.

“Is this okay?” Josie asks, lips delightfully red and glistening. “I don't want to pressure you or anything.”

Hope pauses.

She had spent so much time thinking about sex without actually figuring out the logistics of it. She sort of feels like an idiot, but when she looks up Josie is watching her patiently. Her expression is loving and so, _so_ open. Hope immediately knows that Josie would never make fun of her, not for this.

“Yeah.” Hope nods, a vague shyness creeping up on her. “Can we just… go slow?”

Josie smiles. “Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No smut since they’re 17 in this


	43. Chapter 43

Officially, Christmas passes as it should on December 25th. Unofficially, Hope and Josie have Christmas by themselves the day after.

When Hayley greets Josie at the front door that morning, she seems more chipper than usual. Normally, when Josie comes over, Hayley barely says hello or glances at her like she still isn’t sure how to process Hope having a girlfriend, but today there’s a slight quirk to her lips, a glimmer in her eyes, a thousand little details that make Josie feel more welcome than before.

“You know, Hope spent a lot of time working on your Christmas present.” Hayley tells her, instead of simply saying _hi_. As polite as they are, the Mikaelsons have a habit of forgetting common greetings. “She really cares about you.”

It throws Josie off, hearing something so caring and personal without a warning first.

Of course, she knows that Hope cares about her. Hope shows it everyday, with big, grand gestures and also through smaller actions, like texting her goodnight and good morning or always sticking around to make sure Josie is okay. She even shows it in the way she kisses, as if she wants Josie anchored to her forever and is prepared to fight anyone who keeps them apart.

So, yes, Josie knows Hope cares.

It still surprises her to hear it from someone else, especially Hayley. She isn’t used to people noticing how their relationship has grown, let alone acknowledging it at all.

A faint blush comes to Josie’s cheeks. She ducks her head, but holds eye contact. “I really care about her, too.”

Hayley inspects her carefully for a moment, as if searching for something. Once again, Josie finds herself recognizing the similarities between Hope and Hayley - the sharpness of their eyes, the ability to make Josie bounce nervously on her toes with just a look.

The Mikaelsons are quite a family.

“Good.” Hayley nods and steps aside, giving Josie space to walk into the house. “To be honest, I like you more than Landon. He didn’t suit her.”

Josie bites her tongue in an attempt not to smile, but she knows her mouth might be curved just a bit. It’s a little (a lot) petty, but…

Josie: 1

Landon: 0

“Oh, and Hope is in the garage.” Hayley calls after Josie, who had been heading upstairs. She points a thumb towards a door Josie has never been through before, one that presumably leads to their garage.

“Okay, thanks.”

On her way to the garage, Josie hears a quiet meow come from below her. She lowers her eyes just in time to catch Yoda curling around her ankles, purring delightfully at her presence. As always, Josie is charmed by the cuteness of Hope’s cat and doesn’t hesitate to pick him up.

She has to balance both Hope’s Christmas gift and Yoda in her arms to grab the doorknob, but it’s worth it.

Apparently, the Mikaelson’s garage is really more of a gym. There are stacks of weights in every corner, a few exercise machines that Josie can’t name, and a sweaty, cast-less Hope in the middle of it all. Hope is clearly lost in her own world, her attention on the weight above her head and the steel bar in her hands.

Josie continues to stand in the doorway silently, watching Hope’s arms move as she raises the bar up and down. It should probably gross her out, entering a humid, smelly room, but instead she finds all of this oddly attractive.

She can’t help but notice that the muscle in Hope’s arms bulge with each small movement, that her skin is flushed pink and glistening. If she steps closer into the room, than she can hear the faint sound of whatever music Hope is listening to flow out of her earbuds, mixed with the light panting slipping from Hope’s mouth.

Josie should be wondering how Hope got her cast off early, but all she can think about is how the last time she heard Hope pant like _that_ they were in the middle of-

“Josie?” Hope sits up, no longer preoccupied by the bench press, pulling one of her earbuds out.

“Hey.” Josie blushes at being semi-caught staring and draws her bottom lip into her mouth. She chooses to ignore how Hope’s gaze drifts down to catch the action for a split second.

Yoda twists in her arms, writhing against the gift wrapping. Josie looks down at him, only to see him frowning (okay, so it technically isn’t a frown, but the cat’s eyes are certainly narrowed a fair amount) at her, as if telling her that he doesn’t want to be here for their horny bullshit.

Well.

Understandable.

Josie sets him down and waits a moment to see where he goes. Yoda doesn’t go very far, only a few inches away, on the black mat near the punching bag. She wonders if Hope ever boxes. She would ask, but Hope seems too busy glaring daggers at an innocent cat.

“Come on.” Josie taps Hope’s knee. “Leave Yoda alone. He’s cute.”

“He’s evil.” Hope responds, very dramatically, and leans up off the bench press an inch, only to take Josie back down with her.

Josie giggles as she lands in Hope’s lap. She sets the present down on top of both of their thighs, so her hands are free to trace over Hope’s bare shoulders and forearms. Her smile grows at Hope’s answering shiver, amazed by how dark blue eyes can turn light and loving in no time at all.

“You got your cast off.” She notes, while she taps the spot where it used to be. “I thought it couldn’t come off until after the break.”

“The doctors said it’s all clear.” Hope is just as touchy as Josie, except her hands go for her hips instead of her arms.

“All clear to bench...” She checks the weight and promptly shoves Hope’s shoulder, sure Hope is breaking some sort of rule. “A hundred and thirty pounds. What are you, the Hulk?”

“It’s not _that_ much.”

Josie pouts. “I can’t even do a push-up.”

The edges of Hope’s lips twitch up and then snap down abruptly, like she is trying very hard not to laugh. Josie has seen that same expression a hundred times before, so she recognizes it easily enough.

She isn’t super out of shape, she just doesn’t pride herself on intense workouts and protein shakes the same way Hope does. Not that Josie is complaining. Actually, she’s the opposite of complaining. It’s nice to be able to lay her hand on Hope’s stomach and feel the toned muscles jump underneath her palm.

“I got you a Christmas present.” Josie flashes a blinding, yet shy smile at Hope and uses her free hand to gesture to the gift.

Her other hand is mindlessly drawing symbols onto Hope’s stomach, just above her belly button. She traces a heart right onto the skin and smiles wider as Hope seems to gulp, maybe recognizing what Josie did.

“I can see that.” Hope replies. The present is encased in bright yellow wrapping paper, after all. “Do I get to open it or should I wait until you’re done with my stomach?”

“I just don’t understand how it’s so hard.” Josie taps an ab. She thinks Hope is flexing a little. She doesn’t mind.

“That’s what she said.” Hope’s joke makes Josie finally remove her hand, scandalized.

“I can’t believe I’m dating you.”

“Oh, I know.” Hope grins teasingly. If Josie squints, she thinks she can see Hope’s ego growing right behind them. “I’m pretty awesome.”

Josie would argue, but Hope is right. More than right, actually. Though, Josie would never admit that, or else Hope’s ego would inflate and crush the both of them instantly.

She clamps her mouth shut to avoid spouting out a million compliments. “Just open your gift.”

Hope nods and murmurs something under her breath that sounds suspiciously like _bossy_ , which Josie thinks is incredibly ironic, but she says nothing in return. She keeps her tongue between her teeth while Hope carefully pulls apart the wrapping paper, as if it is part of the gift.

Somewhere in the distance, Yoda hisses loudly, as if telling Hope to hurry the hell up.

Is the cat… listening to them?

After another minute (an eternity), Hope finally gets the last of the wrapping off. For a moment, all Hope does is blink, confused, but then Josie helpfully flips the album around for her so Hope can see the front of it.

“Is this a signed Fleetwood Mac album?” Hope asks the question with an obvious answer, the excitement in her voice spiking at the end of her sentence.

Pride swells in Josie’s chest at being able to put such a joyous look on Hope’s face. A smile splits her lips, something warm and fond creeping up her spine and pooling in her chest, right near her heart. Josie wants to tilt closer enough to capture Hope’s mouth with her own, but she restrains herself, the thought of kissing Hope slipping to the back of her mind for later.

“Do you like it?” Josie questions, somewhat shyly, unable to remove her gaze from Hope.

“Of course I do. This is the best gift anyone has ever given me.” Hope pries her eyes off of the album she had been looking at so adoringly, just to put them on Josie. She intertwines their hands and brings them up to her mouth, pressing a gentle kiss between Josie’s knuckles. “I love it.”

The skin on Josie’s hand where Hope’s mouth had been burns the same as her cheeks, a dark blush showing up at Hope doing something so simple yet loving.

Hope turns over Josie’s hand, still holding it in her palm, and runs her thumb over the faint lines there.

“I’m so glad I joined Glee Club.” Hope continues, apparently not done. She glances up at Josie and back down just as quickly. “It’s a really stupid club, and lately I’ve had the strong urge to spontaneously break out into song, but… I was so sad before. I was a miserable, angry person and now I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”

Hope can’t seem to look at her. She shrugs, as if to reaffirm some point that goes lost on Josie.

“So, thank you.” Hope ends and Josie tilts her head, confused.

“Why are you thanking me?” She pauses, plucks at a piece of spare wrapping paper. “I mean, besides the gift.”

It’s Hope’s turn to look confused. “I joined Glee Club for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes.” Hope says slowly, like she is reminding Josie of her own name. “Well, okay, technically for Landon, but _also_ technically for you. It was all very dramatic and confusing. I was in denial. I just didn’t want to see him anywhere near you, so I…”

A vague hand gesture is made and Hope cuts off her rambling, mouth shut too firmly to be natural, cheeks tinted rose red.

“You joined Glee Club because you were jealous of Landon and I?” Josie repeats.

Hope nods.

She doesn’t mean to be clueless about all of this, but the mere idea of it sounds ridiculous. Sure, Landon may have a crush on her now, but before he basically never looked at her. Hope was the one who was always showing up randomly in the halls, barging into the bathrooms, or somehow finding Josie in odd parts of the school.

That reminds her...

“Wait. I have another question.” Josie shifts her weight to more or less trap Hope, in case she tries to run off. “How do you always know where I am in school?”

Hope blinks.

Stares.

Blinks.

Stares.

Then, she speaks in an embarrassed whisper. “I may have _accidentally_ figured out your class schedule from seeing you around school.”

“You’re a stalker.” Josie allows her mouth to gape open, but somehow she isn’t really deterred. This explains a lot, actually. “Wait, one more question. How long did you have a crush on me?”

_That_ question goes unanswered.

Hope turns so red that it’s almost alarming. Josie was going to guess a week or two before their first kiss, but now her mind runs wild with the possibilities.

Months? Years? Denial is a strong thing. Josie can’t help but wonder how long both of them have been blind because of it.

“I still haven’t given you your gift.” Hope points out and lightly shoves Josie’s thighs to get her off.

Reluctantly, Josie slides off of Hope’s lap. They leave the garage in a trio (Hope frowns when Josie picks Yoda up on their way out), and go up the stairs together.

Hope’s room is uncharacteristically messy. The bed is taking the brunt of it. Random posters are covering the sheets, so almost no color peeks out from underneath. Josie eyes the posters curiously and quickly comes to the conclusion that they aren’t random at all.

“When did you even make these?” Josie picks one up before Hope can stop her.

It’s a prom campaign poster. Hope and Sebastian are on it, of course, both of their smiles so fake and cheesy that it almost makes Josie laugh. She chooses not to, for Hope’s sake. Prom may be stupid to her, but it isn’t to Hope, and she doesn’t want to make fun of her hobbies, no matter how weird they seem.

Sebastian and Hope look like they belong on some sort of brochure for a romantic Disney getaway. Josie wonders how Hope got him to wear that sparkly red tie, then huffs when she inspects it closer and concludes that he actually looks good in it.

Is Hope a witch or something?

“Um.” Hope clears her throat and packs the posters away swiftly enough that Josie decides she may really be supernatural. “Christmas.”

For a moment, Josie’s eyebrows pinch together in confusion. Why would Sebastian be at Hope’s house for Christmas? Hope barely texted her that day, saying she was busy with family stuff. Did Hope lie?

And then it clicks. Hope didn’t lie. She _was_ busy with family stuff.

Family stuff with her boyfriend.

Right.

Josie bites the inside of her cheek, trying to contain the sudden burst of jealousy. She said she was okay with this - and she is. Really. Hope approaches her again, Christmas present now in hand, and Josie is reminded of what Hayley said at the door.

_Hope spent a lot of time working on your Christmas present. She really cares about you._

“Here.” Hope sets it in Josie’s lap and sits down nearby, the sides of their legs pressed together.

The present is the shape of a square and bigger than expected. It feels solid in Josie’s hands, although not heavy. Unlike Hope, she is quick to get the wrapping paper off. Her fingers seem to tremble slightly while she tears it, the posters lingering in the back of her mind despite her best efforts to shove them away.

She wants to not be so jealous. She also wants to not have to see some guy hold her girlfriend’s hips like he-

Josie hurries up, using the gift in her hands as a distraction.

“Wow.” The word slips from her mouth softly, like an awed breeze. “Hope, this is gorgeous.”

She traces the painting with her fingertips in wonder, recognizing it as the painting of her that Hope showed her earlier. It’s finished now, all of the details carefully put on the canvas, her own face captured in such a beautiful image that she could melt just from seeing it.

Josie’s fingers continue on their path, down to her painted neck and the jewelry there. The necklace seems too intricate to just be something random Hope added on a whim.

“I’m glad you like it.” Hope unexpectedly reaches over to set something on Josie’s neck.

Josie had been too caught up in the painting to notice, but now Hope is laying the chain onto her collar and clasping it behind the nape of her neck. It’s the exact same as the one in the painting, except when Josie touches it she can actually feel the embossed design on the talisman.

“Thank you.” Josie whispers, finding her voice comes out a lot quieter when it’s clogged by her own emotions. “You didn’t have to get me two gifts.”

“It’s no big deal.”

But it _is_.

“I’ve got to have some way to make up for things.” Once Hope is done with the clasp, she leans forward to kiss Josie. Her lips miss their target and land on the corner of Josie’s mouth.

“What do you mean?” Josie turns to face Hope, who frowns slightly, probably realizing that Josie dodged the kiss on purpose.

It’s not that Josie doesn’t want to kiss Hope, it’s that she wants to talk first.

“Well.” Hope clears her throat needlessly, almost like she is trying to hide her face with her hand. Josie laces their fingers together to prevent that exact action. “I bullied you for years. There’s no excuse. I need to make up for it.”

Josie feels guilty for no reason at all. This isn’t her fault. Actually, if someone had to take the blame for years of bullying, it would fall solely on Hope, but Josie doesn’t want there to be any blame. When she relives the memories, they pass through her mind as if she is watching a show with new actors.

Hope is so different now, so open, so _sweet_. It’s hard to imagine her as that same person in the halls.

Is this what all of the grand gestures were about? Was Hope just trying to absolve herself of the past few years?

“You don’t have to make up for anything.” Josie tightens her hold on Hope, thinking that Hope is starting to remind her of a bird planning to fly far, far away. Her words are spoken as firmly as her grip. “I don’t want you to go through this relationship beating yourself up all the time. I forgive you. I just want you to be honest with me.”

Hope fiddles with their joined hands, not fleeing, just… thinking.

Eventually, she nods.

“Okay, but I want you to be honest with me, too. How do you really feel about Sebastian?” It sort of feels as if Hope just threw her under a bus, but there is no bus (metaphorical or otherwise), only Hope, watching her and waiting for honesty.

Josie has to force herself to hold eye contact, becoming a little insecure. Telling the truth is hard when the truth is that there are times when she feels as if she would murder a boy she has barely spoken to over Hope.

“He’s okay- _ish_. I know you’re not actually into him, but sometimes I want you all to myself.” She admits the last part through a hushed breath and hopes that Hope doesn’t think it sounds too possessive.

If Hope does think so, she doesn’t say it. In fact, she says and does nothing other than tilt her head from right to left, as if visibly considering something.

Before Josie has a chance to do anything, Hope closes the space between them again. This time, Josie is too caught off guard to even think about moving.

Seconds later, all she can do is curse herself for dodging the first kiss. Hope’s mouth is hot and unrelenting against hers, intoxicating in every way. It’s so addictive that when she eventually pulls away, Josie follows after her, still in a daze.

“Hope.” Josie isn’t sure if she’s asking for another kiss or for the conversation to continue. Hope gives her both.

“You _do_ have me to yourself.” She assures and holds Josie’s hands to her sides to back up this statement. “Not just physically, but in all the ways you could think of. I told you at the party, I’ll tell Sebastian about us, if you want me to.”

The finality in Hope’s voice is something Josie is used to, an inflection she has heard many times before on the field during Cheerios practice, but never in situations like this. Hope’s tone doesn’t waver once. The only thing that gives her away is her eyes flitting down, almost imperceptibly.

Josie is quick to trace the action. “I thought you were afraid of telling people.”

“I’m terrified.” Hope admits, this time her voice shaking like a piece of paper in a windstorm. “But I’ll do it for you.”

“You don’t have to do things just for me. It’s very romantic, don’t get me wrong, but coming out is a big thing. If you’re going to do it, do it for yourself.”

Hope swallows and nods. “Okay.”

She notices how Hope squirms beside her, most likely not used to being emotional for this long, and decides to distract her. Due to their close proximity, Josie barely has to move to kiss her again, this time allowing herself to linger for much longer than before.

The seriousness of the moment gradually fades away, along with the rest of the outside world.

Josie kisses every bit of exposed skin she can, including Hope’s forehead, which gets Josie an embarrassed look from Hope in return. It only spurs her on, seeing Hope blush so beautifully, just for her. She latches onto a sensitive spot on the underside of Hope’s jaw, coaxing a low moan from her lips.

Once again, her hands slip under Hope’s tank top. Hope reacts instantaneously, arching up into Josie while Josie concentrates on touching her _everywhere_.

“My mom is downstairs.” Hope points out, not telling Josie to stop, simply reminding her of that fact.

“We’ll lock the door this time.” Josie promises, which is enough for Hope to let her push the tank top up and off. “Put Yoda outside.”

She swears she hears Yoda make some sort of odd, protesting noise that comes out as a cross between a whine and a meow, but Hope is already standing up to comply.

“But I thought you loved him.” Despite Hope’s words, she seems to have no problem picking him up and putting him in the hall.

Josie waves at Yoda apologetically until Hope shuts and locks the door. “I do, but I don’t want to have sex in front of a cat.”

Yoda hisses at them from outside of the room.

—————

Their first Glee Club meeting after Christmas break is relatively uneventful until the end.

They do the usual stuff kids are forced to do when they go back to school, which means they spend a solid thirty minutes discussing how their holidays went with Alaric. Josie and Lizzie don’t have much to say to him, since he was there for their Christmas, so they end up watching everyone else go through the standard small talk.

When asked about the break, Hope and Penelope are polite but unusually dismissive, MG is bright and cheerful, and the others are more or less indifferent about whatever happened during their holidays.

About five minutes before the bell rings, Landon raises his hand.

“Yes, Landon.” Her dad calls on him. “Something to share about the holidays?”

“No, actually. It’s about Nationals.” Landon’s eyes shift to Josie rather obviously. So obviously, that both Hope and Josie notice. “I was thinking we should write original songs for the competition. I think it could really raise our chances at winning if we did something creative.”

Josie stops shrinking away from Landon’s gaze. She thought he was going to do something bad or humiliating, like ask her out again, but this is pretty tame. Surprisingly, this is something she can back him up on.

“I agree with Landon.” She says, not missing how Hope looks at her as if she slapped a newborn baby. Okay. Back to shrinking. “I just think it’s a good idea… I’ve actually written a song or two.”

“I have, too.” Landon adds.

The tone of his voice makes Josie regret backing him up at all. It’s too _breathy_. He makes it sound like their shared hobby has somehow bonded their souls together, and Josie doesn’t think she is okay with bonding her soul to anyone.

Maybe Hope.

“Wait.” Lizzie chimes in. “We can’t have Landon write all the songs. What is he going to write about, getting rejected and crying?”

Josie resists the urge to laugh and instead sends Lizzie one of her scolding ‘that was a little too far’ looks, even if she _does_ think it was funny.

The others nod in agreement with Lizzie.

“Yeah, we can’t just leave it to Landon.” Kaleb agrees.

“I could write some awesome songs.” Ethan says, mostly to Rafael, but loudly enough for everyone else to hear it.

“Okay, then.” Alaric claps his hands together - a habit he seemed to pick up since the club began. “I guess that’s that. We’re writing original songs for Nationals.”

Once the bell rings, everyone floods out into the hall. Usually, there are set groups for everyone to walk in, which are ridiculously based on popularity levels, but now Josie somehow ends up walking next to Hope.

It’s sort of confusing.

It takes Josie a minute to piece through why she is suddenly walking with all of the football players and Cheerios, but then she really looks around and _thinks_. She got nominated for prom queen, along with her girlfriend and her two friends, and her sister is also a cheerleader. Plus, MG is on the football team.

Is Josie… popular?

It’s not that she cares. It’s more that she finds it weird that the people who slushied her multiple times are now guiding her through the throng of students in the halls.

When they get to a particularly crowded hallway, Hope grabs Josie’s arm discreetly and hauls her into the nearest bathroom. It’s empty, because _of course_ it is.

Does anyone else even use the bathroom here?

“Have you ever noticed that it’s a little strange no one is ever in here?” Josie asks, then thinks of another odd detail at this school. “Also, isn’t it kind of funny that all of the nominated prom queens are dating each other?”

Hope acts as if she said nothing at all. “You’re siding with _Landon_?”

Oh. Great.

“No, I’m siding with his idea.” She corrects.

Josie expected this, but that doesn’t draw away from the fact that it’s a little annoying Hope is accusing her of things when Hope spent the morning hanging those prom posters up around the school.

“It’s not like I’m writing a song with him.” Josie continues, speaking quickly, trying to avoid a potential argument. “The only person I’ve ever written a song about is you.”

“You wrote a song about me?” Hope tilts her head, a smile replacing the frown on her face.

Shit. Josie hadn’t even realized she said that.

“Maybe.”

“Well, can I hear it?” Hope visibly perks up and snakes her arms around Josie’s waist, most likely in an attempt to persuade her. It works way too well. Josie melts into her, as if under a spell.

“Someday.” She decides.

The thought of going through with it is honestly embarrassing. Just thinking of telling Hope the name of the song mortifies her. Who names a song Crush On You? Josie, apparently, because she’s a lovesick idiot.

That same lovesick idiot hooks her hands behind the nape of Hope’s neck and pulls her in closer, not for a kiss but for a tight hug. Josie releases a relaxed sigh as she feels Hope’s hands glide up and down her back soothingly. She almost feels as if she could fall asleep right now, even while standing up.

“I think I’m going to tell Sebastian about us after school.” Hope murmurs. Never mind. Josie is wide awake.

“Wait? Really?” Josie tilts away to look at Hope properly. She hadn’t been expecting this so soon.

Hope raises her eyebrows, amused. “Is that okay?”

“Of course, I’m just surprised.”

Surprised is an understatement, but Josie figures she should get used to the pace at which Hope is moving at. It was almost painfully slow before, but now it’s as if Josie is standing at the top of a hill, watching Hope roll down it with increasing speed. She supposes, like most things, this all makes sense when Josie thinks about it more.

They talked about it earlier. Sebastian fits for next in line (well, technically that’s MG, but it’s not like there’s an actual line).

Josie thought Hope would want to wait a couple more days or weeks after the break, but she definitely isn’t opposed to any of this.

“Do you want me there for it?” She runs her hands over Hope’s uniform, specifically her shoulders, and rubs out any tension she can find there.

Her eyes are inexorably drawn to the tiny ticks and details of Hope, in search of anything bad she could pick up on. Josie used to think it was hard to figure Hope out, but now she finds it easy to notice whenever Hope is uncomfortable or anxious.

The verdict is in: not uncomfortable, but definitely anxious.

“Yeah.” Hope nods after a moment of contemplation.

Josie nods, too. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes. Simple as that.” She gets the sense that Hope isn’t used to things in her life being simple or easy. “Now, I have to get to class and so do you. We can’t spend all day in the bathroom again.”

Hope makes a noise of disagreement that reminds Josie of a child whining for candy in a grocery store, but the sound makes her laugh and they manage to keep their goodbye kiss chaste.

The rest of her classes pass monotonously. It amazes Josie that she can spend so much time in school without absorbing any information at all and still get relatively good grades. She spends the day writing everything but the assigned notes in her notebook. This time, Josie ends up having ten smiley faces, six poorly drawn stick figures (she thinks about interrupting Hope’s school day to ask her about how to properly draw a wolf), four Josette Mikaelsons, and then half a page of song lyrics.

The song lyrics are unorganized, written on different lines at random, parts of them crossed out by her pen or erased by her pencil. As usual, thoughts of Hope flood Josie’s mind and eventually leak out onto the page.

During World History, she writes: _keeping secrets safe, every move we make, seems like no one's left to know._

That is the only verse that Josie decides on, the rest of them swirling around her head without officially being chosen. By the time she decides to do what school is for and actually pay attention, the final bell rings.

Oh well.

Josie collects her unused books and stacks them inside of her backpack. She leaves her phone outside of it, expecting a call or text from Hope, and calls over her shoulder to say goodbye to the teacher on her way out. Josie gets three long strides down the hallway before her phone is buzzing in her hand.

It’s a call this time.

She holds the phone to her ear. “Hi.”

“Hey.” Hope greets, sounding much too distant for Josie’s liking. She wonders if Hope has her on speaker. “Where are you?”

“Fourth floor.”

“World History?” Hope guesses, while Josie is descending the stairs.

“You’re a creep.” She sing-songs, without any real malice. “You could give Edward Cullen a run for his money. I don't even get what the point of knowing my schedule is if you don’t-“

Josie squeaks, jumping nearly a foot in the air as someone taps her on the shoulder. She drops her phone, but thankfully it lands in two pale, waiting hands. Hope lifts the device in the air and shakes it pointedly, like she is reminding Josie to be more careful, when in reality _she_ is the one who scared Josie.

Once Josie gets past the initial scream-inducing shock, she grins. “You caught my phone. You’re literally Edward.”

“Stop making Twilight references or I’ll…” Hope trails off, looking somewhere behind Josie.

“You’ll..?”

The question becomes irrelevant when Hope continues to stare past Josie. Her gaze is vacant but focused enough that Josie gets the hint and turns around, noticing Sebastian strolling down the hall. Josie’s stomach clenches involuntarily, for a short moment, but she is able to push past the feeling with relative ease.

Hope isn’t in the same boat. One would think that she saw a ghost, judging by how quickly her face is losing all color.

“We don’t have to do this, you know.” Josie reminds her, fingers twitching at her side. “If you want, we can go get an early dinner. I’ll buy you one of those gross, dressing-less salads you like.”

It takes every ounce of restraint in her body not to lay a comforting hand on Hope’s shoulder or at least bump their sides together, but their peers are still passing by and Josie doesn’t want to overwhelm her.

“Don’t judge. Most salad dressing has way too much sodium.” Hope says it like she has repeated it a thousand times before, and Josie imagines she has, but now it seems as if Hope’s salad dressing details are a stand-in for a determined _yes, we are doing this_.

So, yes, they are doing this.

Josie barely has time to distract Hope by bringing up the calories in various dressings before Hope is marching off. The order to follow after Hope goes unsaid, but Josie does it anyways. She knows that they are heading for Sebastian, but it’s still a bit of a shock when Hope grabs him by the wrist and starts dragging him down the hall.

Where are they going? They can’t all go into a bathroom together since he’s a boy and Hope freaks out in storage closets.

The location goes unknown for a full minute, the trio going down multiple flights of stairs until they reach the first floor. Sebastian protests for ten seconds of that minute before he falls silent and settles for glancing at Josie, probably knowing that he won’t get an answer out of Hope just yet.

Eventually, they reach the parking lot and Hope pulls out her car keys, unlocking the vehicle.

Ah, yes. The perfect place to have an emotional conversation.

A Toyota.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lyrics Josie wrote are from the song Pretending from Glee


	44. Chapter 44

Despite it being the first week of January, Hope’s car is hot and stuffy inside. The heat is almost stifling, to the point that Josie begins to wonder if this is truly the temperature of the car or if it’s her own anxiety warming her skin.

Either way, Josie is two minutes away from being sweat-stain central in front of her very attractive, very non-sweaty looking girlfriend.

Great.

“Is there a reason you’re trying to burn us alive?” Sebastian fans himself, resembling a Hollywood starlet, desperately in need of some cool air.

“Don’t be so dramatic.” Hope rolls her eyes, but leans over just enough to press a button and let cold air flow into the car. Thank god.

The temperature cools down somewhat, but Josie still feels sort of… warm? Warm isn’t really the right word. It’s closer to panicked. Not for herself, but for Hope.

It’s only just now occurring to her that all the times they had come out beforehand had been relatively predictable situations. Josie guesses that Penelope and Maya were dating years ago, Lizzie had barely batted an eye at Josie coming out in middle school, and Landon and Hayley finding out was definitely unplanned.

Sebastian is unpredictable. He’s Hope’s friend, not Josie’s.

“You know, saying hello every once in a while would be nice.” Sebastian goes on talking to Hope, his only acknowledgement of Josie being a curious glance backwards. He sort of looks at her like she’s furniture and not a person.

“Hello.” Hope replies, deliberately deadpan. Josie gets the sense that she’s stalling, but hesitates to say anything. She doesn’t want to push too hard.

Sebastian’s eyebrows raise, probably getting the same sense as Josie. He finally shifts around to stare at her, inspecting Josie carefully, while she sits there in the backseat like a forgotten child.

(Josie isn’t forgotten, though. Hope keeps on glancing back at her in the rear view mirror, always paying attention.)

“Is this like a _take out the competition_ thing?” He leans towards Hope a little. “Because I can’t hit a girl, it’s immoral. I wouldn’t be opposed to a cat fight though… wait. Is this a threesome thing? Because I really-“

“No. No. _No_.” Hope cuts in - cheeks red, eyes wide, while she waves her arms wildly to get him to shut up.

Sebastian’s mouth clicks shut and forms a tiny smirk, almost like he is glad he forced Hope to do something other than fiddle anxiously with the air conditioning. Huh. Hope’s friends really are a mystery.

“Get on with it, then.” He makes a short, waving hand gesture.

Josie frowns, nearly snapping at him for rushing her, but he doesn’t know what he’s rushing Hope into, so Josie can’t blame him. It isn’t Sebastian’s fault that Hope is super dramatic sometimes and usually horribly vague, and that whenever she is frustrated she falls silent, then proceeds to get that cute, little furrow between her brows and-

Nope. Not the time.

“Okay, fine. Pushy.” The comment is needless, delivered a little too late. Again, Hope is stalling.

Each second that ticks by only unsettles Josie more, the suspense grabbing hold of her insides and twisting them out of place. The only thing she could compare it to is watching a horror movie and waiting for the jump scare. All she can do is sip her drink and clutch at her popcorn, except there are no snacks in Hope’s car and the only object Josie is clutching is the driver’s seat.

Josie shifts her hand forward until she can grip Hope’s shoulder, immediately met by a muscle that feels more like a rock, it’s so tense. She rolls her palm down, massaging Hope subtly, and ignores how Sebastian watches them as if he is seeing Santa Claus descend from the sky.

It nearly makes Josie blush, having an audience. She isn’t ashamed - she never will be - but she had gotten into the habit of loving Hope while they both stood inside this little bubble together, always hidden from the world.

Now, they’re not hiding.

Well, _almost_ not hiding.

“Josie and I are dating.” Hope admits, on the end of a shaky exhale. Josie feels the tremble against her palm and curls her fingers tighter on instinct, trying to add some support.

What is Josie supposed to say? She has been placed in the backseat of the car and she can’t even complain, because there is little to nothing for her to add. Sebastian doesn’t affect her life. This is much more about Hope than her.

So, why is it so hard for her to catch her breath? Why is she holding the air in the back of her throat, not allowing it to enter her lungs?

Why is she afraid?

Sebastian’s gaze bounces between them, eyes lingering for half a second on Josie’s hand where it lays protectively on Hope’s shoulder, but not for too long.

“I don’t get the joke.” He says finally, genuinely confused. “Did you get bored with the slushies?”

Josie can feel Hope bristle at the implication that this is another bullying ploy. A second later, Hope snakes her hand backwards and interlocks their fingers too tightly, as if out of spite or pure defiance.

“No, I’m telling the truth.” Hope confirms firmly. Josie is so fucking proud of her.

Sebastian’s eyebrows raise further, but then they come down along with the rest of his face. He stares at Hope, stares _through_ her, like she has become a ghost. Someone could guess that Hope isn’t even there by the way he looks ahead, but Josie can feel the rapid pound of Hope’s heartbeat against her own skin.

The whole vehicle falls silent.

And then-

“No.” Sebastian shakes his head vehemently, his tone thickened by something odd. Fear? “I _won’t_ let you. It’s not happening.”

“You won’t let me?” Hope’s shaky, unsure voice has sharpened into a knife.

“Yeah.” He barks out a humorless laugh, rubs the side of his face. Pokes the bear. “What are you thinking? You have to stop.“

Hope’s expression hardens into steel. “You don’t get a say in who I date.”

For a moment, Josie is transported back to the many hours she spent watching Hope lead the cheerleaders on the field. It’s clear to her now that Hope has a way of disconnecting from the world. A switch that allows her to go from Hope Mikaelson to this angry, stone-cold Head Cheerio in seconds.

“You’re going to hell, Hope.” Sebastian states, his jaw locking to something dangerous.

The switch flips right back.

Hope visibly deflates, all of the false confidence and bravado knocked right out of her in the blink of an eye. Her fingers are loose against Josie’s, the tips of them unnaturally cold, as if Josie is now clutching at a corpse.

Sebastian shifts in his seat and has the audacity to actually look Josie in the eye. “If you loved her, you wouldn’t let this happen to her.”

Josie wants to tell him that he knows _nothing_ about their love at all, that there is no way he possibly could if he can so nonchalantly break Hope’s heart this way. She wants to grip his neck, she wants to crush it, she wants to snap his bones and _scream_ and defend Hope violently.

But she doesn’t.

Violence isn’t what Hope needs right now.

Josie simply shakes her head. “If you loved her, you would act like it.”

Something flashes across his face, much like guilt, but if Sebastian feels it he doesn’t say or act on it. He slips out of the car silently and walks away quickly enough that he soon becomes a speck on the horizon.

The way they are sitting prevents Josie from truly reaching Hope, but she manages to maneuver her arms around the car seat and slide her hands over her.

“Hope?” Josie prompts in the gentlest tone possible. “Are you okay?”

Again, the angle isn’t ideal for comforting. Josie is usually better at this when she can look the person in the eye or touch them without having to put a strain on her arms. She wants to pull Hope into the tightest hug imaginable, but the car seat is still stuck between them. Josie guesses that it must only be a couple inches thick, and yet it feels as if someone is using an entire ocean to separate them.

Josie doesn’t like it all.

Could she climb into the front seat? It seems like a bad idea, considering her long legs and the students that are beginning to swarm the parking lot. The action would probably draw too much attention to them anyways, and Josie knows how Hope feels about that.

“Hope?” Josie repeats, more urgently. Not impatient. Just concerned.

“Yeah. I’m… yeah.” Hope murmurs out words that barely form a sentence and sits upright once again, her posture ramrod straight and _perfect_. “I’m good.”

There is no tremor in Hope’s voice, no trace of tears on her face. It’s terrifying. Josie can see Hope pushing down her emotions, building her walls up, going backwards. Hope shifts forward an inch, out of Josie’s reach, and plasters on a smile that’s less than reassuring while she turns on the radio.

_Songbird_ starts playing.

“Oh god.” In the rear view mirror, Josie can see the panic bubble up and consume Hope’s face. It eats away at her composure visibly. “Oh god. I can’t do this _here_.”

Josie doesn’t entirely understand what Hope means by that. The tiny mirror won’t give her more than a glimpse of Hope. All she can spot are suspiciously wet eyes and half of a sweeping hand gesture that Hope is making, pointing to the school.

Oh. Right. The school.

The school that they are currently parked right in front of, giving every single one of their peers a front row seat to Hope’s upcoming breakdown.

“Okay, give me your keys.” Josie instructs and Hope does so wordlessly. “And slide over.”

Hope crawls into the passenger seat with a gracefulness that Josie has no time to admire. Once Hope is situated, Josie climbs into the driver’s seat (she thinks that letting everyone see her going in and out of Hope’s car would be a bad idea), although when Josie does it it’s far less dignified.

Yes, that means Josie almost accidentally slams her head on the steering wheel.

Thankfully, Josie manages to drive them out of there without sustaining a head injury. It definitely isn’t her best driving, but she will blame that on the fact that she has never driven this car before and that the majority of her attention is on Hope.

“Put your seatbelt on.” Josie glances anxiously over at Hope, worried for both her physical and emotional safety.

Again, Hope complies. “Sure, mom.”

Good.

At least Hope can still make jokes.

Unfortunately, the sound of the seatbelt clicking into place is the last noise that rings through the car for a long while. Josie doesn’t want to pry and she also doesn’t want to crash the car. All she gets from Hope is the occasional sniffle or sigh, but no words.

Josie is all about being patient with Hope and not pushing, since that has been working pretty well so far, but the silence is gnawing at her insides.

Where is she even driving them to? Her house? Hope’s? Yes, taking Hope home would probably be the best option.

Probably.

How many years would she go to jail if she were to turn the car around and run Sebastian over?

Josie is going to kill him. Somehow. He may be taller and much stronger than her, but she will figure out a way. Guns? Knives? Poison? There has to be a thousand possibilities. Something painful, definitely.

How dare he hurt Hope?

How dare anyone hurt Hope ever, especially over something as uncontrollable as her sexuality?

Josie is going to have to start stabbing people.

All of a sudden, Hope’s hand rests lightly atop Josie’s own. She blinks, breaking out of her wild machete fantasies, and zeroes in on reality in a matter of seconds. Hope is tugging at her wrist insistently, trying to pull Josie’s hand from the wheel. Josie allows it and soon their fingers are interlocked over the center console.

She brushes her thumb reassuringly over the back of Hope’s palm, forgetting every driving safety tip she’s ever learned.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Josie asks and Hope shakes her head no.

The rest of the drive is purposefully silent. They don’t swap words, but every few minutes Hope will squeeze Josie’s hand and Josie will readily squeeze back.

For the next ten minutes, Josie and Hope continue to hold hands. They break apart for a second or two when they reach Hope’s house, because they both have to get out of the car, but otherwise they stay linked together.

It gives Josie a certain special comfort, having Hope cling to her. For a moment there she was worried Hope was going to fly away.

It goes unsaid that Josie plans to stay here for however long Hope wants her.

Hope leads her through the empty house and upstairs, but surprisingly guides them past her bedroom and to another one down the hall.

Josie inspects the room curiously as soon as they enter. It’s a lot simpler than Hope’s, with minimal decorations and less trophies. The scent of it is vaguely familiar. It lingers in Josie’s nose but never fully registers in her brain, staying on the outskirts of her head.

“Why are we in your parents’ room?” Josie asks, just assuming that’s what it is, because she can’t imagine anyone else who could live in here.

Another tug of their joined hands. More wordless guidance from Hope.

The silence would be unsettling if it weren’t for all of the touching. Hope may be unusually quiet and acting sort of strangely, but at least Josie has a constant sign that she is there.

They go through another door connected to the bedroom and Josie nearly rolls her eyes as they step into a bathroom.

Of course.

They really need to get past this whole bathroom habit. There are much better places to talk.

“Uh.” Hope clears her throat and drops her eyes to the floorboards shyly, her voice scratchy from disuse. “When I was little, Freya used to run me a bath if I was sad.”

Something about the way Hope says it causes Josie’s heart to thud painfully.

It’s a quiet, sad admission, like Hope is reflecting on her childhood and mourning it. Josie tries to conjure up the memory of that picture of younger Hope, joyous and hopeful, and tries to compare it to how Hope looks now.

She can’t.

“You want me to… take a bath with you?” Josie asks, not trying to start anything inappropriate, just unsure of the situation.

The bathtub is definitely big enough for two people. It’s large and fancy, the edges of it lined with multiple bath bombs and different soaps and shampoo. Josie wouldn’t be opposed to joining Hope in here later, but she really doesn’t think that sex is the right thing for them to be doing now.

“No, I just…” Hope trails off, dark red blooming on her cheeks. She is still unable to look at Josie, as if all of this is terribly embarrassing.

Josie listens intently for instruction. She’ll give Hope whatever she wants. Whatever she needs.

“I thought maybe I could take a bath and you could sit with me.” Hope explains and hugs her own sides for a second, appearing more fragile than Josie has ever seen her.

Josie is going to murder Sebastian. Slowly. Painfully.

“Yeah, of course.” She nods two extra times to get the point across to Hope - this is okay, asking for comfort is okay. “I’ll run it for you, if you want.”

“Okay.”

While Hope props herself up against the sink to untie her shoes, Josie fiddles with the bath. She turns the handles experimentally until she can get the temperature right, then squirts soap in and lets the hot water flow out of the faucet for a while.

Bubbles build at the water’s surface, a sweet floral smell accompanying them. Once the tub is full, Josie shuts off the faucet. She turns to look at Hope and nearly has a mini heart attack because Hope isn’t wearing any clothes, and just _wow_.

Again, not the time for that.

“You can get in now.” Josie tells her. She taps her finger mindlessly against the tub and ignores the building warmth beneath her skin while Hope climbs in.

Thankfully, Hope sinks down far enough that she is covered almost completely by the bubbles and Josie doesn’t have to go through this experience being horribly flustered. Since she can actually look at Hope without blushing now, she checks to see if Hope needs anything and rolls her eyes at Hope’s ponytail.

“Your hair is going to fall out someday.” Josie scolds her, but it comes out so, _so_ fondly, that it doesn’t sound like a warning.

The words are softened even further by Josie tenderly pulling the hair tie out for Hope. She sets it aside and returns to comb through the rest of the strands with her fingers. Half of Hope’s head is already submerged, so Josie goes ahead and cups some water in her palm to spread over her scalp.

It must be the right choice to make, because Hope relaxes noticeably.

“He’s right.” She says out of nowhere, vague as always, but Josie continues her ministrations.

Patience is key.

“Who’s right?” Josie picks up the rose shampoo and scrubs a considerable amount onto Hope’s auburn head, eliciting a soft sigh from the other girl.

“Sebastian.” Hope answers. Josie stills, wanting to protest, but Hope reaches back to tap her wrist purposefully and she keeps moving again. “I’m going to hell for this, aren’t I?”

No.

Yes?

Honestly, Josie doesn’t know. She can’t imagine Hope in hell, mostly because she can’t picture a hell at all. She rarely ever thinks about those things and when she does, she is quick to dismiss them from her mind.

Death is scary and confusing. Why would she stand around dwelling on it?

“I don’t really believe in hell.” Josie replies and inhales the heady scent of flowery shampoo around them to compose herself a little. “Or anything, really.”

“What’s that like?”

“Lonely, sometimes, but it’s not all bad.” She wishes she had more to give Hope. More to say.

Hope seems pretty okay with Josie’s answer, at least enough that the conversation pauses. Josie takes advantage of the silence and guides Hope over to the faucet, proceeding to wash the soap from her hair. She cleans out all remaining suds with a careful hand and hesitates before swiping water along the bridge of Hope’s nose to clean her face, too.

Josie notices how a tiny smile plucks at Hope’s lips and finds her own mouth mirroring the action.

Most of Hope’s skin is soft and smooth, as usual, but there are slightly rough trails down her eyes that offset the texture of her face, like she had been crying and the tears dried already. Josie had heard the quiet sniffles and other muffled, heartbreaking noises during the drive here, but she had been unable to _really_ stop and look at Hope while behind the wheel.

Now, it’s more obvious than ever that Hope had been borderline sobbing at some point.

Josie’s stomach twists into something ugly.

“Sebastian is wrong.” She states, even though it has been several minutes since the conversation ended. Even though Hope’s eyes are closed and Josie can’t be very firm when she is in the middle of doing something so loving. “You aren’t going to hell. I don’t care what anyone else says.”

Hope’s eyes open once Josie gets the water off of them. “But-“

“No. You’re not going to be punished for loving someone.” Josie says, much more strongly than she feels, and then offhandedly adds, “I’m going to kill him.”

Much to Josie’s annoyance, Hope’s expression shifts to one of barely concealed amusement. She huffs at the familiar sight of Hope struggling not to laugh once again, but holds all complaints on the back of her tongue. Josie loves the way Hope sometimes snorts or giggles (although she won’t admit that she does), especially in times like these.

It feels like Josie is lighting candles as they stand in the dark together. She’s being useful, she’s finally found a way to help Hope.

Still.

She has no idea why Hope is seconds away from laughing.

“What?” Josie pouts slightly, getting the sneaking suspicion that Hope is laughing at her.

“It’s just…” Hope’s lips curl further upwards and she makes a hand gesture that jostles the water surrounding her, the liquid parting the bubbles enough that an inch of bare skin is exposed. Not wanting to be a total perv, Josie resists the urge to glance downwards. “You’re like one of those small, angry dogs. You’re a chihuahua.”

Josie splashes water in Hope’s face.

Hope gasps and makes a show of wiping her cheek dramatically. “Hey! You’re supposed to be comforting me.”

“I _thought_ I was.” Her pout deepens, though she tips closer to Hope. “You called me a chihuahua.”

A hand is extended towards her and Josie raises her eyebrows, but doesn’t hesitate to let Hope pull her against the tub once again. Her sleeve is soaked through from the splashing and being so close to the tub isn’t helping her dry up. She must look like a drowned... chihuahua.

Damn it.

“You _did_ comfort me.” Hope flashes a genuine smile and Josie’s chest unknots for the first time since they left the school.

Sunshine might as well be spilling out of Josie’s ears as she watches Hope clasp their hands together and kiss along her knuckles. She loves it when Hope does that. It’s so chivalrous that it instantly warms her body. Everything inside of her eases, except for her anger at Sebastian.

“Really, thank you.” Hope murmurs solemnly, and ducks her head an inch. “I’ve missed being taken care of.”

Josie’s heart swells, doubling in size. “Hope, baby…”

She isn’t sure what to say. She feels so much love for her in this moment that words could never truly express it.

It’s hard to spot the exact moment Hope’s pupils dilate, but it’s impossible to miss how they flicker down to Josie’s mouth. Josie draws her bottom between her teeth, in deep thought. Would it be wrong to kiss Hope so soon? Hope does seem a little emotionally fragile and Josie doesn’t want to somehow take advantage of her.

Josie holds back, her thoughts doing circles in her head while her body stills uncertainly.

It’s silent for a long second, then Hope finally takes action. Josie scrambles to grab onto the side of the tub as Hope all but yanks her closer. One hand curls in the front of Josie’s sweater while the other cups the nape of her neck, and Hope uses that leverage to anchor them tightly together.

Their lips skim over each other, not settling well, due to Josie still being unsure. Hope frowns like Josie has committed a crime.

Excuse her for having morals.

“C’mon, Jo.” Hope whispers, in that low, almost pleading tone Josie adores. It’s only made more enticing by the sloshing water, a clear reminder of Hope’s lack of clothes. “I want you.”

Fuck.

Before Josie can respond, think, or even breathe, a door shuts loudly downstairs and the chance to slot their mouths together is ripped from her.

“Hope?” Klaus calls, sounding far away, like maybe he is in the living room. “Are you home?”

The two girls exchange a look and quickly jump into action. _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._ Josie can’t be sure if it’s her own head swearing up a storm or just Hope beside her, but they are both in agreement about being utterly screwed.

The problem isn’t that Josie’s sleeve is wet and Hope is naked. No, that’s a quick fix. Hope pulls on a robe and Josie strips down to the tank top under her sweater. Easy.

The problem is that Hope’s hair is very clearly soaking wet and dripping water everywhere on the floor. The problem is that the tub is still full and not draining fast enough. The problem is that since Josie’s skin is also flushed and damp, it looks as if they took a bath _together_.

The problem is that Klaus is climbing the stairs.

Josie opens the bathroom door and looks around the bedroom frantically, in search of anything that could help. Pillows? Dress shoes? A rug? None of that is going to fix things, unless the rug is secretly some sort of invisibility cloak, but that seems incredibly unlikely.

“What are you doing?” Hope whisper-hisses.

“I don’t know.” Josie responds in the same tone and they stare stupidly at each other for far, far too long. “What are _you_ doing?”

“I don’t know!”

The door is still hanging open and Yoda struts in to remind them of that fact. He curls around her ankle casually, unaware of the chaos, and nudges his tiny head into Josie’s leg. He avoids the water on the floor quite pointedly, which only draws attention to how much has spilled out of the bath or dripped off of Hope.

Shit.

This is really not the time for Yoda to be…

“I am so, _so_ sorry.” Josie whispers to the animal as she gets an idea. She tosses a small, _small_ amount of water on him, enough that it looks like he barely escaped a bath. “So, so, so sorry.”

Yoda hisses at her, betrayed, and glares at them both, but especially Hope. He just hates Hope.

“Oh no, I’m a cat abuser.” Josie whines in a hushed tone and Hope stifles a laugh beside her.

“No, you’re not. It wasn’t _that_ much water.” Hope assures and lowers her voice another level, so that they can hear the steady footsteps of Klaus in the hall. Her smile snaps down into a frown suddenly enough that Josie gets whiplash. “It’s fine.”

It sure doesn’t feel like it.


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nvm one more Hope chapter

Klaus stands in the doorway.

“Are you…” His eyes cast over them searchingly, a bit of confusion clouding his expression, but no anger. “Washing the cat?”

No.

“Yes.” Hope replies, quick to plaster an innocent smile on her face. It’s the same one she uses when questioned about a chore she didn’t do, and it’s the one she’ll use when she pretends to be shocked about winning prom queen.

Hope has many fake smiles, each one carefully chosen for specific social interactions (dances, football games, parties, etc.), but Josie seems to be having a hard time at it. Josie appears more concerned than anything, her gaze set on a shivering Yoda, and a tiny pout on her lips.

It’s adorable, how genuine Josie is, and Hope would stare adoringly if she wasn’t currently being watched.

“Well.” Klaus clears his throat. “Far be it from me to try and understand what teenagers do in their free time.”

Klaus walks away and returns barely a second later, popping his head in before Hope can feel any relief.

“Hope, sweetheart, would you come help with the groceries once you’re done with your friend?”

_Friend_.

Thank god.

He still thinks Josie is Hope’s friend, he doesn’t know a thing, and Hope does not have to worry any longer about interacting with her father today.

Hope nods automatically. “Yeah, sure.”

Klaus disappears for real this time, the thud of his footsteps softening as he gets farther away. Hope holds her breath until she can hear them fade completely. It takes a minute for the ice in her bones to thaw, but once it does she exhales heavily and tips towards Josie for comfort.

She feels unexplainably heavy, slumped against Josie’s waiting arms, like maybe Hope had found a way to double in size in a matter of seconds.

So many things could have happened.

The possibilities are endless and so are the nightmares. If Klaus had moved a bit faster while coming up the stairs or simply not announced his presence, they could be in a world of trouble right now. What would he do to Hope? What would he do to Josie?

Hope could imagine him sitting at their dinner table, dismissing Hope’s existence the same way he did Freya’s, with a curt _she’s dead._

“You okay?” Josie whispers, although there is no reason to do so now.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Hope replies, and she _is_.

Hope leans closer into Josie and anchors herself between the brunette’s legs. Josie is much drier and warmer than her, so Hope takes advantage of the body heat emitting off of Josie. Josie does not seem put-off by this at all, despite the fact that Hope’s hair is leaking water onto her tank top.

Just being close to Josie is soothing. Hope can already feel herself relax, even though she does not plan to stay there long. She still has groceries to unpack and keeping her father waiting is a stupid idea.

Yoda makes a low sort of noise that would most likely be a swear if he were human.

“Aww, I’m sorry.” Josie apologizes for about the fiftieth time since she threw water on him and Hope rolls her eyes, glad to be facing away from Josie. “Hope, I feel so bad.”

“He’ll get over it.” Hope promises, but the pouty little animal chooses that moment to trot out of the bathroom and make Hope look like a liar.

Great. Thanks for that, Yoda.

“It’s fine.” Hope assures and twists around to kiss the building frown on Josie’s mouth. “You can buy him catnip.”

Josie’s frown vanishes at the idea and she perks up to kiss Hope whole-heartedly. “Okay.”

Hope doesn’t allow the kiss to last for too long, although she yearns to deepen it. She is still vaguely aware of her father being downstairs, able to walk in on them again at any moment. She can’t let them get too carried away.

Still, Hope is weak when it comes to Josie and Josie ends up being the one pulling back.

“You have to help with the groceries.” Josie says the reminder gently, but pointedly, and shifts a bit until Hope realizes she’s trying to stand up. Hope is busy staring uselessly at Josie’s lips. Josie has to thump her on the head to break her out of the spell. “ _Groceries_.”

Ugh.

Honestly, Hope planned to spend the rest of the day with Josie. She wanted to watch movies and lay around together, anything but focus on what transpired earlier with Sebastian.

It hurts her to know that this may be the end of their friendship, but more so her feelings confuse her. Hope can’t find it in herself to be mad at him. If the positions had been reversed and it was him, not her, then she probably would have said exactly the same thing.

It’s what they’ve been taught since forever, so why would he ever stop to question it?

Hope isn’t sure where she stands with him. He could out her or simply become a nuisance, like Landon, or something else entirely. It’s too much to think about, especially with the added fact that hundreds of people at school think that they’re a couple.

A more vain part of Hope wonders what the plan is for prom and if there is still a plan at all.

Hope pushes aside those thoughts in favor of helping Josie clean up the bathroom. They made more of a mess than she thought earlier. Hope’s mad scrambling across the room made the floors too wet and slippery, the bath mat forgotten.

They have to use several towels to do it, but they manage to make the bathroom look brand new.

“I can’t believe that worked.” Hope says, at the end of it, and smirks when she notices Josie’s cheeks are a bit flushed. How little exercise does she get?

“I know, right.” Josie agrees. “It’s like fate is on our side.”

“Fate isn’t real.”

Josie frowns slightly. “But fate brought me—“

“Please don’t say fate brought us together.” Hope interrupts, already rolling her eyes and doing it a second time when Josie’s frown deepens. “Come on, I’m supposed to be the cheesy one here.”

The only reason Josie doesn’t respond to that is because Hope doesn’t let her, instead placing a placating kiss on her frown. Eventually, Josie’s fingers come up to trace the curly, baby hairs on the nape of Hope’s neck and Hope nearly melts, sighing lowly in appreciation.

It’s over far too quickly.

“Groceries.” Josie punctuates each syllable with a small kiss before she lets Hope go.

The only thing keeping Hope from whining is her pride and her father, who is still downstairs (Hope really needs to pull it together).

Reluctantly, Hope leads Josie down the stairs and to the front door. She can’t kiss her goodbye, so she settles for a verbal dismissal and smiles at the adorable, short wave Josie gives her in return. Hope doesn’t allow herself to stare after Josie as she leaves, as much as she wants to.

She simply shuts the door and tries to fight the urge to drive Josie home (they had taken Hope’s car here, after all, and it seems wrong to make Josie walk), aware of her father’s eyes on her.

Klaus is in the kitchen, already having handled half of the groceries. The empty bags are folded in a stack on the floor and the ones that are full are set on the counter. Hope feels a slight hint of guilt for keeping him waiting and rushes to pull an item from one of the bags.

Zero calorie lemonade. Great. Hope is starting to prefer the beverages at Josie’s house, sugar and all.

“How was school?” Klaus asks and Hope barely blinks an eye at the standard parent question.

“Good.” Hope responds. Automatic. Polite. “How was your day?”

In the time it takes him to respond, Hope grabs several items out of the bags and stacks them in the cupboards. Distantly, she wonders how far down the block Josie is and if she could catch up with her.

Hope shakes her head. She is being ridiculous. It’s Mystic Falls, not a big city. Josie can walk for ten minutes without something bad happening.

“Good. The choir boys offered to help dust off the pews today.” Klaus says, which explains why he was back from church early. “I ran into Sebastian at the store.”

Hope freezes, nearly dropping her eggs.

Sebastian wouldn’t say anything to him. Would he? It’s basic decency not to bring someone’s parents into an argument, but maybe…

Klaus continues, eyeing her sort of oddly. “He said you were sick.”

No. No. No. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

He _knows_.

Sick? Like loving Josie means she has some kind of disease?

Hope’s stomach twists violently, bile springing to the front of her throat. She feels as if she may throw up all over the kitchen floor. Her head throbs itself dizzy and Hope sways on her feet, having to grab a random item to keep herself upright.

An extra large bag of cough drops.

Oh.

“Oh. I’ve just been feeling a little tired since I’ve been busy with…” Busy with what? Making out with Josie Saltzman? “Cheerleading and such.”

And such?

“Yes, you have been doing a lot.” Klaus concurs.

Hope hums in agreement, because she _is_ doing two extracurriculars while keeping up her grades and running for prom queen. She has a lot on her plate and is balancing that plate pretty well, all things considered.

“I hope you won’t be too rundown for that singing competition of yours.” Klaus sets down a cup of the chicken noodle soup she likes. He genuinely thinks she is sick. “Your mother didn’t want me to tell you too early, but we bought tickets to go.”

Shit. It’s not that Hope hates her family, but she has to act a certain way around them, and she was looking forward to being herself at Nationals.

More specifically, being herself _with_ Josie.

Nationals is in New York City and she knows that there has to be at least one gay club in a big city like that.

“Great.” Hope smiles and Klaus does the same. He hands her the container of soup.

“Go rest, little one.” Klaus advises gently. “You must be tired.”

Surprisingly, she is.

“Okay. Thanks.”

A week passes and the tiredness does not fade one bit.

Hope goes through those seven days exhausted by both her classes and her fellow Glee Club members’ horrendous songwriting. They all try to write something to contribute, but the result is a lot of bad songs about random, inconsequential things. Maya writes a song about a styrofoam cup and even _that_ doesn’t turn out to be the worst out of all of the options.

Overall, Josie’s song is the best, but there is no surprise there. It’s phenomenal. Hope might be a little bit biased. Landon’s song is… okay, but still second best, due to the fact that it is literally about being a loser.

Seriously.

It’s called Loser Like Me.

As for the third song, that goes undecided for the entirety of the week, until everyone buckles down and stays late at school to try and choose which one to perform.

“I still think mine was the best.” Kaleb says, and has been saying that exact same thing for the past hour.

Everyone has been sitting in the choir room for a while now. It’s nearing dinner time and no one has come to a decision, since everyone keeps on claiming to be the next Beyoncé and voting for themselves. At this point, Hope has given up on caring. It’s late enough that she had to endure a morning cheerleading practice, a previous Glee Club meeting at lunch, and now she is sitting through this one.

It sucks.

“No, mine was.” Ethan protests and, across the room, Lizzie drops her head into her hands with an irritated groan.

Mr. Saltzman isn’t even here and the lack of a teacher’s presence means everyone is free to swear at each other and generally act like dumb children without being scolded.

Kaleb is a perfect example of that. “My nana could have written a better song than you, and she’s senile.”

They all chose to be here on their own. It seems ridiculous to Hope, now that she thinks about it. She could leave at any moment if she wanted to and not face any punishment. Why is she still here?

“Come on, guys.” Josie interrupts. “Fighting isn’t going to help anything.”

Right. Josie.

Hope sighs and absentmindedly rubs the back of her shoulder, nearly hissing when it throbs.

Okay, so _maybe_ Hope had overexerted herself a smidge during practice, in an effort to prove that she was better than everyone else - _is_ better than everyone else.

Hope doesn’t intend for anyone to see, but when she looks up she meets the soft brown of Josie’s eyes. Something warm stirs in her chest at catching Josie watching her.

Josie raises her eyebrows half an inch, as if to ask: _are you okay?_

Hope nods, almost imperceptibly.

“Why don’t you just write another song, Josie? Instead of sitting around.” Sebastian questions, even though all he has done this entire time is sit around, like an arrogant prick.

“Lay off of Josie.” Hope snaps, more malice in her tone than she intended. She knows she should probably tread carefully with Sebastian, but showing weakness has never been a part of Hope’s plan.

The room falls silent.

Hope is too tired to comprehend why half of the room is looking at her like she is an alien for defending her own girlfriend, but then she remembers that half of the people in this room still don’t know that her and Josie are dating.

To them, it must look like Hope just unnecessarily snapped at her boyfriend. Sebastian and her are still fake-dating. Technically.

Hope rushes to correct herself. “I just mean that Josie is the only one here who wrote a song—“

“Hey!” Landon protests.

“—A good song.” Hope finishes and sadistically delights in the way he deflates. Haha. Maybe she is being a bit of a bitch, but oh well.

She’s tired.

Josie dips her head to hide the small smile on her face. Hope swells with pride at being the one to put it there, even if it’s not one of Josie’s full grins.

“I liked yours, Penelope.” Josie says and nods at Penelope, or rather, Penelope _and_ Maya, since those two are always together.

“Same.” Maya agrees.

“Yeah.” Hope nods, less enthusiastically than Maya’s lovesick ass. “It was good.”

Penelope smiles somewhat bashfully and Hope resists the urge to roll her eyes. She gets the sense that Penelope wrote the song for Maya, but Hope can’t say a word because she is pretty sure Josie wrote her song for Hope.

Hope swallows and sets her gaze downwards, ignoring that particular thought. Since when has she become so easily affected by just thinking of Josie?

“Okay, fine.” Lizzie sits up and takes her bag with her, finalizing the decision before they even vote. “So we’re doing Light Up The World.”

Everyone finally, finally agrees on this. A few of them seem deterred by their song not getting chosen, but Hope couldn’t care less. She just wants to leave and go home in time to take a nap. At this point, anyone who gets in the way of that is going to get shoved to the side.

Thankfully, no one protests.

Hope scoops up her backpack and rests it on her shoulder. She barely gets two steps out into the hall before someone taps her on the arm.

It’s Sebastian.

Apparently, Hope isn’t allowed a minute of rest.

“Can we talk?” Sebastian asks. There is clearly something wrong with him. His skin is flushed a sickly grey color and there is a light sheen of sweat shining across his forehead, despite the hallway being quite cool.

Hope sets her shoulders firmly, trying not to let him see how he unnerves her. It’s odd, because he used to be a source of comfort.

“No.”

Hope finds herself being dragged into a nearby classroom anyways. All Hope sees is a glimpse of the rest of the club’s confused faces outside before the door closes.

“Are you deaf?” Hope scowls and crosses her arms defensively. “I said _no_. Now open the door.”

Her phone vibrates in her pocket. It’s most likely Josie checking up on her, but Hope is too angry about being tossed into a random classroom like a rag doll to text her back right now.

“I can’t believe you spoke to my father.” Hope continues, not letting Sebastian get a word in. He doesn’t attempt to, instead pacing in front of the door like he is trying to collect himself. “For one thing, you had no right to do so. And for another, I’m not…”

Hope glances away, swallowing thickly. “I’m not sick. There’s nothing wrong with me.”

She has the urge to brush this all off and call him a snitch, like they are children on the playground, but also the overwhelming urge to hit him. Hope hugs her own body tighter to restrain herself from doing either of those things.

The first option is as childish as the second. She knows she can’t just go around slapping people.

“I don’t get it.” Sebastian says finally and Hope barely holds back a scoff.

“It’s not my job to teach you.” Why does she have to be like this? So angry? It will only make things worse.

“I mean, you know what happens to gay people, and you’re doing it anyways.” Sebastian runs a hand through his hair, musing it slightly. “Why?”

None of the lights inside of the classroom are on, since school ended hours ago, but the chairs are still out. Feeling woozy, Hope sits down in one and waits a moment until Sebastian takes a hint and joins her, no longer doing that insane, wild pacing of his.

“I can’t help it.” Hope shrugs. Honest. Not angry, for once. “I can’t stay away from her.”

Her heart trembles in her chest, feeling so fragile, and she wonders if she should be telling him any of this, but if he is going to expose her then he probably already made the decision.

“The truth is I… I’m not sure if I’m going to hell or not, but if you told me for certain I was, then I still wouldn’t stop loving Josie.” Hope shrugs, again, embarrassed at being so emotional.

“Love?” Sebastian echoes, worrying his bottom lip in thought.

“Yeah, well.” Hope stammers. “I—“

Her phone buzzes rather loudly. Hope sighs and pulls it out of her pocket, seeing Josie’s contact photo flash across the screen. She glances at Sebastian and then hesitantly answers the call, holding her phone to her ear.

“Yes?”

“Are you okay?” Josie’s voice floats in through the phone, slightly muffled. “You haven’t been answering my texts.”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Hope assures and glances over at Sebastian once again, noticing that he seems interested in their phone call. She leans away an inch and hopes he can’t hear anything. “We’re just talking. I’m not sure what he wants, though.”

Hope points that last sentence at Sebastian, since he forced her in here against her will and still has not truly said anything of substance.

“The point is, things are fine. You don’t need to worry.”

“Okay, good.” Some rustling comes from the other line, like maybe Josie is getting into a car. “I’ve got to go. Love you.”

Hope pauses.

Sebastian is still watching her expectantly.

“Love you, too.” She whispers and ignores the light tremor of her heart.

Hope hangs up and tucks her phone away, a line of heat already working its way across her face. She knows her cheeks must be at least a little pink and she is sort of embarrassed, but for some reason she has the sense that Sebastian isn’t going to do anything too bad.

At least he isn’t being openly hostile.

“You can’t say anything.” Hope tells him, biting the inside of her cheek when she realizes how it sounds as if she is bossing him around. “Please. If you really care about me at all, you won’t say a word.”

Sebastian wrings his hands, staring hard down at the floor. Hope squirms as anxiety creeps up her throat like it is trying to choke her. She doesn’t let it.

“ _Please_.” Hope stresses and presses her tongue to the front of her teeth a second later.

She hates begging. The only person she’ll plead with for anything is Josie.

“Fine.” Sebastian agrees, his reluctance very clear. “But I still don’t support it.”

Hope sucks in a breath. “Okay.”

“And I’ll be praying for you.”

“Okay.”

“And if this interferes with the prom campaign…”

“It won’t.” Hope assures. Prom may be the one thing they agree on, and that’s not much, but it’s enough.

It’s enough.

—————

Two weeks later, Hope is standing at the front of a line in an airport coffee shop with Penelope and Maya, all of them prepared to go to New York for Nationals.

“May I have a bottle of water and an iced coffee? Oh, and could you put a message on the cup?” Hope drums her fingers against the counter and beams when the barista nods at her. “Okay, so write ‘good luck’ with a little heart on the end, and make it out to Josie.”

Secret message goal achieved.

Hope steps off to the side and is too busy trying to fish out her wallet to notice how Penelope and Maya are cooing at her as if she is an adorable puppy or something. When she does notice, she scowls and only wipes the expression off of her face to hand the money over to the employee.

“What?” Hope questions her friends as they go to the waiting area. A blush rises on her skin. She knows _what_.

“You’re so cute, Hopey.” Penelope giggles and Maya pokes Hope’s stomach teasingly.

“Ugh. No, I’m not.” Hope ducks her head, that light blush on her cheeks deepening to a dark red. “Josie just needs her coffee in the morning.”

They continue to laugh like immature, little schoolgirls.

Whatever.

Hope huffs and crosses her arms over her chest, glaring at them both until someone announces that the drinks are ready. She picks up Josie’s without a word and stomps off in the other direction, trusting Penelope and Maya will follow after her.

They do.

The rest of the club is strewn all around the boarding area. So are their parents. The adults are awkwardly huddled amongst themselves, not really friends but here for their children, most of them only speaking to their respective partners.

Ethan and Rafael are in the corner talking loudly about some Marvel movie, Dana is speaking to her mother, Landon has big, black headphones on and looks to be brooding beside Sebastian, and Kaleb and MG are having a very, very quiet conversation because Lizzie is asleep on MG’s shoulder.

Then there’s Josie. Hope nearly stumbles at the pretty sight of her.

Josie has her hair up in a tight ponytail, her neck and collarbones temptingly bare, a white wire connecting her earbuds to her phone. Her outfit is cute and simple, a maroon top and leggings. Hope’s body heats enough to melt the ice in the coffee, thrown off by how effortlessly beautiful Josie looks.

Okay. Maybe Hope deserves _some_ laughter, she is being pretty ridiculous - but she can’t help it.

“Here, go take this to her.” Hope tries to hand the coffee to Maya, who refuses with a shake of her head.

“No.” Maya rolls her eyes. “Do it yourself, idiot.”

“Rude.” Hope replies, not really angered at all, and nervously makes her way over to Josie.

It’s fine. It’s not like anyone is paying attention to her or anything else, really, since everyone is tired from going through security. Her family is here, but it looks as if Klaus got up to go get a snack or something, and even if he were to see her, he thinks they’re friends.

It’s just coffee.

Hope touches the cold beverage against the tip of Josie’s nose and Josie jumps slightly, startled, before she finally looks up and her eyes sparkle.

_So pretty_.

“Hey.” Josie grins and clasps her hands around the drink gratefully. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Hope replies, trying not to burn under Josie’s attentive gaze.

Hope lingers for another moment, but returns back to her mother’s side soon enough. She has to make an effort not to show the spell Josie had put her under. The image of Josie’s smiling face still forms clearly in her head. Hayley sends her an odd look, but otherwise says nothing.

At some point, Klaus comes back with a bag of pistachios, but that is the most interesting thing to happen for a solid twenty minutes until the plane boards.

Everyone piles into the plane together, the space around them quickly growing too crowded.

“Mom!” Kaleb pulls away from his mother, who had been in the process of trying to wipe a line of crumbs off of his cheek with her thumb. “Stop it.”

Most of the kids' interactions with their parents are going the same. Everyone acts a bit strange around their families, some of them arguing and others ducking their heads to avoid eye contact. Ethan and Maya are arguing about something already, and Hope can’t help but stare at them for a second.

She always forgets that they’re siblings.

Hope glances at her own parents wearily, not too obviously, but they immediately notice and laugh.

“Don’t worry, little one.” Klaus ruffles hair. “We won’t embarrass you. We got seats on the other side of the plane.”

She tries not to let her relief show, but they laugh again, so they must spot it. Hope’s hair is mused once more before they disappear entirely and she is left to try and fix it on her own. Hope runs a hand through it to smooth the strands down and hikes her bag farther up her shoulder as she walks down the aisle.

Hope locates her seat and situates her bag. She is in the middle of trying to guess who is going to sit next to her for the flight when a voice behind her speaks up.

“Little one?” The voice teases.

She spins her head around to peer between the seats, catching sight of Josie. “Don’t be mean.”

“I think it’s cute.” Josie drops her voice to a quiet murmur that is almost lost in the loud bustle of everyone passing by. “I think _you’re_ cute.”

Blushing furiously, Hope shifts to face the front of the plane. She ignores the sweet giggle coming from Josie, staring at the aisle instead. Soon, a middle aged man she does not know sits beside her. He offers her a polite smile but is quick to put his headphones on his ears.

Good. Hope does not want to talk to anyone for the entire duration of the flight. She puts on her seatbelt and leans against the window, intent on sleeping until they reach their destination. Her eyes are already hooded, so it barely takes her a minute to fall asleep.

It feels as if she only sleeps for a short moment.

At some point during the flight, someone pushes up the window’s cover.

Hope blinks awake, twisting in her seat, irritated by the sudden light and the lack of sleep. She is fully intending to chew out whoever woke her up, but the complaint gets lodged in her throat as she lays eyes on Josie.

Josie’s lips are stretched around a wide smile, her eyes set on the view outside. Light floods into the dim plane, warm sunlight illuminating Josie’s silhouette. Every little bit of her is hugged by the sun’s rays, so her skin has gone from a golden tan to a gentle peach. She’s buzzing with clear excitement, filled with enough childish wonder to make Hope’s heart ache like a nasty bruise.

All Hope can do is stare, full of love, her heart bursting open.

A flight attendant reminds them all to put on their seatbelts, because they’ll be landing soon. Had it really been so long? Hope feels as if she went to sleep less than a second ago.

Hope yawns and rubs her eyes, stretching her neck this way and that in an attempt to wake herself up. She knows that if they are landing right now, then the competition can’t be far off.

Maybe a couple more hours until they’ll be on stage, and Hope is exhausted. Damn it.

The exiting process goes much like the boarding process. Everyone whispering to each other, the aisle becoming much too crowded for Hope’s liking, people rushing to get out of the plane and into the airport. It’s chaos. Controlled chaos, but chaos all the same.

Hope can not catch her breath until they are out of the plane. Even then, she is not able to totally relax, since they have to go through the chore of waiting around for their bags.

It’s very boring.

“This sucks.” Penelope voices, sliding up next to Hope and her family. “We have, like, two hours before Nationals. We might even be late.”

Hope shrugs, because she has nothing else to do but agree. She looks past Penelope, at some of the families that came with them. Penelope’s younger brother is having a conversation with Kaleb’s sister, Kym, and Mrs. Greasley is trying to comb MG’s hair in the middle of the airport.

Okay, so this is terrible for everyone, then.

The only person who looks close to chipper is Josie, which is good, because she is kind of their star. If anyone asks, Hope will say Glee Club is stupid, but honestly? She wants to win.

“Hope.” Hayley pokes her arm. “Come help get the bags.”

Thank fuck. Hope felt as if they were standing there for an entire year. She gleefully grabs their suitcases and perks up more when everyone else eventually finds their baggage, too.

Finally.

The rest of the journey goes relatively smoothly. They take a van to the hotel and the drive there passes pretty silently, save for a few sentences and some light music playing throughout. Once they reach the hotel, their parents part ways with them and the teenagers gather around Mr. S for their room assignments.

“Boys and girls, again.” Mr. Saltzman explains simply, his words a tad rushed. It looks as if he is having a hard time holding onto all of the keys at once. “Just go up to change and come back real quick. It starts in an hour, so there’s no time to sit around, okay?”

“Okay.” Everyone choruses.

Hope is fine with staying with all the other girls. It went okay last time and this way she gets to be with both her friends and Josie. It’s a win, except for having Dana there.

Mr. Saltzman hands out the keys to all of them, one by one.

“Once again,” Lizzie begins, dramatic as usual. “Forcing me to room with Dana is torture. I could catch _something_.”

“Lizzie.” Mr. Saltzman says lowly, like a warning, and Josie pulls Lizzie along before she can be punished.

“Let’s just get dressed.” Josie advises wisely, as they all walk to the elevator in a pack. “You heard Dad. We only have a couple minutes to get ready and then we’ve got to go back downstairs.”

In the following fifteen minutes, they do just that. The only bump in the road is Lizzie and Dana’s fighting, which is…

“You suck!”

“No, _you_ suck!”

...interesting, to say the least.

Other than that, they agree pretty quickly on who gets what bed (Penelope, Hope, and Maya in one, Josie and Lizzie in another, and Dana on the tiny couch in the corner of the room), and mainly focus on putting on their blue dresses and some light makeup. They have to rush a little, but they make it back to the lobby around the same time as the boys.

“You look pretty.” MG compliments Lizzie when he runs into her outside the elevator.

Lizzie is quick to fix his crooked tie. “Thank you.”

Hope glances at Josie, itching to tell her that she looks pretty too, but her own cowardice holds her back. It would be lame if she did, anyways. She doesn’t want to piggyback off of someone else’s compliments. She can make up her own.

For example, Hope thinks Josie looks beautiful with the light makeup she has on, a little bit of mascara and red lipstick.

It pleases her to know that she could have that lipstick on her later tonight, after they are done. Hope can barely draw her eyes away from the inviting layer of color on Josie’s full lips. The only reason she stops is because they meet back up with Mr. Saltzman and she feels rather awkward checking the girl out in front of her father.

“Ready to go?” Mr. Saltzman questions, doing a mental head count of everyone.

“Yep.” Josie and Lizzie respond in unison.

Twins are creepy.

“Alright, then.” He nods towards the lobby’s front door. “Everyone go outside, get back in the van.”

There are a few grumbles, but everyone climbs into the van regardless. Hope crawls inside and snags a seat next to Penelope and Maya. She crosses her legs as soon as she sits, since she’s wearing a dress and doesn’t want to flash anyone.

They reach the theater in a short amount of time. It’s a lot larger than the ones for Sectionals and Regionals, and a lot fancier too, although Hope does not have a long time to roam around the room.

They’re going first.

Hope spots Vocal Adrenaline being creepy and spectacular in the front row, some of the judges sitting behind them, and a herd of parents nearby that include her own. Great. As if there wasn’t enough pressure already. Now she has to worry about accidentally locking eyes with her father and tripping off the stage.

“Hope, stop zoning out.” Maya pretty much yells in her ear, too quiet for the theater. “We have five minutes, get it together.”

“Get it together.” Hope mocks, but does as she is told and allows Maya to guide her backstage.

Hope wrings her hands and straightens her back. She hadn’t felt this nervous the last time, so why is this sudden bout of uncertainty bubbling up now? Is it because of her parents or the humid, congested time spent in the airport?

It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, Hope needs to move past it. She has dealt with much worse than a silly, singing competition. Besides, she has full faith that Josie will do an amazing job.

Landon may be… iffy.

He’s a good singer and Hope can admit that his voice fits well with Josie’s, but the duet is about love and Landon has none of it with Josie.

Still.

Josie can do it.

“Alright, team.” Alaric holds out his arm. “Hands in.”

Hope rolls her eyes and sticks her hand out into the medium-sized circles the New Directions form. All of their fingers meet in the middle until Mr. Saltzman counts down and they throw their hands in the air, cheering _uh-mazing_ (amazing).

It’s so dorky.

Once they are done and Hope has lost most of her dignity, the theater’s lights darken further and the opening notes of Josie’s song starts playing while Landon and Josie take the stage.

Standing behind the curtain, Hope watches with thinly-veiled jealousy as Landon stares lovingly at Josie. Josie’s eyes are a lot less caring, but not void of emotion, since she is playing a part. It does sting a bit, to see Josie sing the song to Landon instead of her, but Hope is well aware that she wouldn’t have gone on stage and done the duet herself.

Not with her family here.

Not with about a hundred people watching.

Besides, they are almost done. Hope begins to worry more about how quickly she’ll have to get on stage for the next song. Josie and Landon are belting out their final notes together, following the choreography nicely, slowly walking to the middle of the stage simultaneously.

It’s all going as planned, except when Josie faces out towards the crowd to finish the song, Landon does not.

Actually, Hope notices that he is staring at Josie quite strangely, and has stopped singing entirely. Huh. That’s odd. He’s supposed to be—

And then Landon kisses her.

Hope’s world cracks and splinters at the edges, her sanity parting with her, too.

It only lasts for a second, but to Hope it is an eternity. An eternity of agony, of pain, of _hell_. Josie shoves him away and wipes the back of her hand across her mouth unapologetically.

No one claps.

No one makes a sound.

No one does _anything_.

Hope takes a step forward, but Maya puts a heavy hand on her shoulder. “Don’t do something crazy.”

The rush of blood pounding in her ears does not allow Hope to hear a single word. She could kill him. She should kill him. She _will_ kill him.

The music for the next song floods in and breaks Hope out of her stupor enough for her to get into position with the rest of the club. She can not allow herself to relax for the entirety of their performance. Her bones rattle painfully as she dances along, each glimpse of Landon or Josie’s smudged lipstick setting Hope off all over again.

As soon as they are done, Hope storms out into the lobby and tries to quell the rapid beat of her heart. Despite her best efforts to breathe, it continues to pump rage into her blood and Hope runs hot with fury.

How could he do that? How could he kiss her like that, right in front of everyone, without a care? How could he assault her with his mouth, like a dirty fucking piece of—

Breathe.

Just _breathe_.

Hope sucks in a deep, ragged breath that does absolutely nothing. In fact, it somehow makes it worse, and she bites her tongue hard enough to taste the metallic hints of blood. She glances to her left and immediately spots a familiar dark, curly head.

Hope’s jaw tightens on its own accord, her eyes narrowing dangerously and turning to steel.

She starts walking towards him without another thought.

Landon barely sees her coming. He is standing around, almost innocently, a curve of a smile on his face while he talks to someone - does it really matter who? His eyes widen into saucers when he finally spots her marching up to him.

“Hope—“

Hope punches him across the face before he can even fully say her name, sending him stumbling backwards. He bumps into a couple innocent people and holds his jaw, shock written all over his face. The smacking sound that ripples through the room is satisfying, but not enough, and so Hope does not waste a single moment worrying about the sting on her knuckles.

She hits him again, and again, and _again_ , never finding proper satisfaction until he falls, clutching his nose, blood gushing out from between his clenched fingers. Hope moves to kick him in the balls, in the stomach, in the fucking neck.

She should _kill_ him.

Hope raises her foot threateningly but is yanked back by three people. She recognizes Penelope and Maya instantly and struggles against their hold on her biceps, not stopping to think for a second about the crowd around them, the arm wrapped around her waist, or anything other than having Landon dead.

“Hope, honey, stop it.” A voice as sweet as syrup coos in her ear. Josie. “Stop it. It’s okay. _Stop_.”

The soothing words placate Hope enough that she slumps into the set of hands and arms behind her, but the venomous words linger on her mouth like poison and she spits them out heatedly.

Hope practically growls at him. “If you ever touch _my_ girlfriend again, I swear to God I’ll—“

“Your girlfriend?” Klaus echoes, and the whole world goes cold.


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh writing so much Klaus slander hurts me

Once they are done with their performance, the New Directions flood out into the lobby and are joined by their family and friends.

Josie stumbles out with them, too disoriented to do anything other than blindly follow along. She can hear the opening notes of their competitors’ first song, something light and cheery that feels inappropriate for the situation at hand. Her lips taste strange when she licks them, like someone else’s saliva, and her lips have the telltale tingle that comes with being recently kissed.

It’s a tingle that she has come to associate with Hope (no matter how odd the word tingle seems) and only Hope.

Being kissed by Landon was… weird.

A while ago, she had thought it would be the stuff of fairytales, but instead Josie feels violated and in need of a toothbrush or mouthwash. She has no clue where he got the idea that she wanted him to kiss her, especially when Josie is dating Hope.

Josie’s eyes scan the crowd. At first, her mind is on Landon - she wonders if she could get away with slapping him - but then she spots a small, rosy head pushing past all of the people.

Hope.

Call it young love or just plain concern, but once Josie thinks the name, it’s all she can hear.

_Hope, Hope, Hope._

She wants to kiss Hope again, drag her into one of the bathrooms nearby and press their bodies close enough to burn, until everything feels safe and familiar again. Josie knows Hope probably wants to see her, too, knows that she is most likely mad or jealous right now and that they need to talk before someone does something drastic.

What she doesn’t know is where Hope is going and why she is walking so determinedly in one direction, going towards—

Shit.

“Hope.” Landon says, loudly and cluelessly, and then there’s a flying fist and he’s on the ground.

Josie watches, stunned, as the scene in front of her unfolds. Hope keeps on bringing her fist back down across his face, not pausing for a single second, drawing blood from his nose with every strong punch. It’s a flurry of shouts and rage. No one stops them, even Landon seems too taken aback to try and defend himself. Josie has never seen Hope so _angry_ , so full of rage and hate.

It looks like she is going to kill him.

That thought registers in her head rather quickly, along with the fact that Hope is doing this in front of multiple people, and she dashes forward to go pull Hope out of public eye.

Josie gets there around the same time as Maya and Penelope, who help grab and restrain Hope.

Hope struggles against them like a wild animal, still trying to stomp on Landon’s limbs with her feet. She somehow manages to land a few kicks on his chest, which surprises Josie. She had no idea Hope was this strong or this angry. Hope is usually so gentle (at least she is with her), even when they weren’t friends Hope never hit her.

“Hope, honey, stop it.” Josie whispers, trying to placate her. “Stop it. It’s okay. _Stop_.”

Thankfully, Hope seems to calm down a little bit, and leans back against Josie’s front. She stays still for a quiet second, breathing heavily, tense but no longer trying to beat Landon senseless.

But, Hope has never been known for being calm or quiet.

Hope growls, sounding like a possessive, highly territorial animal. “If you ever touch _my_ girlfriend again, I swear to God I’ll—“

“Your girlfriend?” Klaus repeats, his voice as hard and sharp as the edge of a knife. It cuts just the same, pierces through the world and renders it silent.

Fuck.

Shit, shit, shit—

Hope actually does stop moving this time, curling in on herself visibly at the mere sound of her father.

All other noises disappear.

Josie’s ears fill with a distant buzzing, as if her mind is trying to block out her surroundings. She can only hear Hope’s breathing, ragged and low, maybe strained from the fight or the confession. She can feel it, too - the unsteady rise and fall of Hope’s chest, her heart thumping wildly like the wings of a hummingbird.

Seeing Hope so uncomposed is almost the most terrifying part of this, since she usually keeps her feelings somewhat hidden, but now fear seems to fall out of her in waves.

“What the fuck?” Landon suddenly groans. Josie had forgotten he was there. “Oh god, my nose.”

He continues to whimper pathetically, rolling back and forth on the ground instead of simply getting up, his hands painted crimson. Josie’s emotions are all over the place. She is not sure how she feels about Hope being overly protective, but a tiny, dark part of her hopes Hope broke his nose.

“You can’t just hit me.” Landon complains in a muffled, nasally tone.

Hope twitches, her shoulders tensing.

Apparently, she isn’t done. “Yeah, and you can’t just kiss people without their permission, you piece of shit.”

Landon mumbles something that gets lost in the palms of his hands. He coughs and blood leaks out through the cracks of his fingers. Someone comes rushing over to him, presumably his mom, and guides him to his feet with a gentle grip. His mother looks over him hurriedly, concern clear on her face.

“Oh, my poor boy.” She hesitantly touches a red blotch on his cheek, a newly forming bruise. He winces. “Who did this to you?”

He points at Hope, like a scorned child.

Josie wants to hit him.

Everyone turns to Hope, and by extension, Josie, Maya, and Penelope, too. For a second, it seems as if the whole world is staring. All four girls wilt under the sudden attention.

And then:

“It’s about that time again, glee clubs. We need all club members to come back to the stage so we can announce the winners. Vocal Adrenaline, New Directions, and the Who’s Your Daddys.” It repeats itself. “Vocal Adrenaline, New Directions, and the Who’s Your Daddys, please come to the stage right now.”

Some minimal crackling comes from the speaker and then the noise dies out entirely, leaving them in uncomfortable silence.

A few people share uncertain glances, Penelope and Maya included, and start to slowly walk to the stage entrance. Josie stays behind because Hope does, both of them firmly pinned under the weight of several gazes.

Other people are sticking around - Hayley, Klaus, Alaric, Landon, and his mother.

“Hope.” Klaus’ lips snap down, something like rage and disgust curling at the edges of them. “Come here.”

Josie feels Hope tremble against her.

“N-No.” Hope stumbles over her words, bringing herself to her feet.

“Come here.” He repeats. “ _Now_.”

Josie can see the conflicted emotion work its way along Hope’s face, her blue eyes darting across the room at Klaus and back to Josie in an instant. She looks afraid. Josie swallows hard, not sure what to do, and hesitates briefly before reaching down to interlock Hope’s fingers with her own.

She feels Hope tense, ever so slightly, but soon enough her shoulders visibly smooth out. Josie squeezes their joined hands and Hope squeezes right back.

“No.” Hope says it with more certainty this time and clears her throat just after, eyes suspiciously wet. “We have to go, so…”

Hope makes an awkward gesture to the left, but does not move to leave, standing frozen for a bit longer than necessary until Josie gives her hand another squeeze. Finally, they walk off together, never letting go of each other. Josie stops them once they are behind the curtain, but not fully on stage, and uses the second of coverage to look at Hope properly.

“Are you okay?” Josie asks, already knowing the answer. It seems like the right question anyways.

She wants nothing more than to comfort Hope. If it were possible, Josie would pick Hope up and carry her away from the world, but sadly Josie is not strong enough for that and the world is too big.

Where would she take Hope? Space? A rocket sounds expensive.

Still, Josie’s heart throbs painfully at seeing the deep frown on Hope’s face, and her brain starts to pile up all of the ways she could save enough money to get them somewhere else. Sure, outer space may be a little far fetched, but a hotel isn’t.

“I’m…” Hope glances off at the stage, her eyes shining wetly as they catch the light. Josie grips Hope’s hands tightly to try and reassure her.

“We don’t have to go back on stage.” She tells Hope. “If you don’t want to, then we can leave.”

Several people on stage must catch the words, because they glance impatiently at Hope and Josie. Without delay, Josie rolls her eyes.

Theater nerds.

Alaric joins them before Hope can respond to her question. Shortly after, Landon also walks in and pauses at the sight of them. Both guys look taken aback at seeing Hope and Josie so close.

“Actually, you do have to go on stage.” Alaric nods forward, his expression oddly cold.

Josie raises her eyebrows at that. She knows her dad isn’t a homophobe, but she also knows him well enough to tell when he is pissed off, so his anger doesn’t go unnoticed. It seems misplaced, considering Josie hasn’t done anything wrong.

Well.

Anything wrong that he would know of.

There was the time she snuck out to go clubbing, but she can’t think of any way Alaric would know that.

There’s also the occasional drinking, but again, there is no way Alaric could know that, unless Landon decided to snitch on the entire club in the last few minutes, which seems unlikely. He isn’t that much of an idiot. Is he?

Alaric gestures to the stage expectantly. Josie glances at Hope, who nods.

“Fine.”

The rest of the club is waiting for them on stage, as well as the announcer, Vocal Adrenaline, and the poorly named, Who’s Your Daddys. They go stand next to Maya and Penelope while Landon and Alaric take their positions in the back.

“Now that everyone is here...” The announcer sends a rather passive aggressive look to the New Directions. “We can continue. Let’s see who won, shall we?”

The announcer opens an envelope. “In second place, we have the Who’s Your Daddys.”

People clap shortly and the club’s leader accepts their medium-sized trophy gratuitously, carrying it back to their team. They quiet down, along with the crowd, and the announcer clears the throat before speaking again.

“And in first place, we have…” The announcer pauses for dramatic effect.

Josie tenses slightly, her shoulders coiling tight in anticipation. Now, they can either get last or first place. She clenches up and feels a soft hand in her own. It’s then that she remembers Hope has not let go of her hand this entire time and calms down, a quiet sigh leaving her lips at the sudden realization that Hope is clinging to her in _public_.

The competition doesn’t seem to matter.

“Vocal Adrenaline!”

It barely washes over Josie that they lost. Oddly enough, she can’t find it in herself to care much. She is annoyed that all of their hard work went to waste, but she guesses that they lost because Landon decided to kiss her, which stings less. It sucks, but it’s sort of nice to know they didn’t lose because they’re any less talented.

Plus, there are other things to worry about, like her dad and Klaus waiting around for them in the lobby. Josie would rather stay on stage and deal with the loss than go elsewhere, but she can only stand there for so long before someone ushers them off.

Before Josie can get all the way off stage, a hand clasps around her arm to stop her. Jade smiles at her, breathless and giddy from the win.

“Congrats.” Josie says politely.

“Thank you, but for the record, dating _her_ is a major win.” Jade whispers and releases her with a wink.

Josie rolls her eyes but feels a little better.

As they walk off stage and back into the lobby, Josie pulls Hope to a dark corner where they can talk until someone inevitably comes to interrupt them.

“What was _that_?” Hope asks.

“Oh.” Josie realizes she never mentioned her tiny interactions with Jade at every competition. “It’s just Jade, she says hi sometimes.”

“Sometimes?”

Josie sighs.

“I really don’t want to fight about this.” She lowers her voice, noticing multiple people can hear what she’s saying. “There are other things we should talk about. Besides, Jade means nothing to me, and you mean everything.”

Hope softens at that. “I know. I’m sorry, I’m just feeling a little off because of… everything.”

It’s unfair how adorable Hope looks at a time like this, her eyes and head lowered slightly, the soft edges of her face illuminated by the light. Josie really wants to hug or kiss her, but it doesn’t feel right in this situation.

Instead, Josie nods. “I get it.”

“I hate that he kissed you.” Hope admits slowly, choosing every word with the utmost care. “I didn’t mean to get so angry, I just…”

“Josie!” Alaric calls.

There’s the inevitable interruption. Josie wishes they had found a bathroom.

Alaric jogs up to them and Hope falls silent, not willing to share her emotions with someone else around. Josie bites back the urge to glare at her dad, since he technically hasn’t done anything wrong.

“We need to talk.” He stares at Josie pointedly.

She glances at Hope. “I’m kind of busy right now, dad. Can we—“

“Now.” Alaric stresses.

“ _Dad_.”

Josie lets go of Hope’s hands, thrown off by how icy her father’s tone is. Once again, she tries to think of a reason why she would be in trouble and comes up empty. Josie adjusts her footing to stand in front of Hope protectively.

“What did I do?” She asks, truly clueless, but her question seems to piss him off more, like she is playing dumb on purpose.

“You’re not allowed to have a secret relationship with anyone.” He states, and _oh_ , that does kind of make sense. “You’re seventeen, you’re still a child, you can’t just sneak around.”

Josie sputters, caught. She wants to argue, but she does sort of see his point of view.

“They weren’t sneaking around.” Lizzie appears at her side, her arms firmly crossed. “You’re just never home, even Caroline figured it out already.”

It’s now Alaric’s turn to stammer uselessly.

Josie rolls her eyes at her family’s antics, before turning to look at Hope. Except, Hope isn’t there anymore, and (once Josie takes the time to look for them) neither are any of the other Mikaelsons.

Damn it.

Who knows what they’re doing with Hope. How had Josie been so careless? She feels as if she only looked away for a second, but it was clearly long enough for Hope to disappear. Hopefully, things go okay. She has little hope for Klaus, but Hayley seems to care deeply about her daughter and like Josie, at least a bit.

Deciding to text Hope, Josie pulls out her phone, only to have it plucked from her hands by Alaric.

“Dad—“

“No, your phone privileges are getting revoked until further notice.” He tells her and Josie locks her jaw, internally seething. “And you both need to get ready for dinner.”

“Dinner?” Josie questions.

He sighs, annoyed. “Yes, Josie. If you were listening, you would have heard me mention the congratulatory dinner MG’s mom set up for us all.”

That sounds like a horrible idea. Josie doesn’t want to hang out with people in the club or their parents right now, for obvious reasons. Josie huffs, immediately protesting.

“But dad I—“

“ _Josette_.”

Josie pouts, pressing her tongue to the back of her teeth. “Fine.”

“You too, Elizabeth.” Alaric continues, uncaring of how Lizzie’s mouth falls open at the use of her actual name. “Both of you go get in the van.”

Lizzie seems ready to argue just for the sake of arguing, but Josie hooks their arms together and leads her away. Josie is hoping that Hope will be waiting for her in the van, sitting with the rest of the club, unharmed and, at worst, bored.

Her hopes are crushed as they reach the vehicle and she spots everyone there, except for Hope.

Josie reaches for her phone on instinct and sighs when her hand pats at an empty pocket, irritated with herself for forgetting so easily and annoyed by the fact that there is no way to reach Hope, thanks to her father.

Fuck. Josie just wants to know that she’s alright.

“I can’t believe dad real-named us.” Lizzie pulls her seatbelt across her chest and straps it in with a quiet click. “He’s so pissed off, he kept making his pinched, angry cat face.”

Josie sighs and shifts to rest her head on Lizzie’s shoulder. “Hope has a cat.”

Lizzie rolls her eyes at Josie’s lovesick tone, but drags Josie closer. They end up cuddling in the car, not caring about the occasional odd glance from the club members around them. She clings tightly to her sister for support, finding comfort in familiar arms.

“She’ll be fine.” Lizzie assures, in a whisper. “It’s Hope. She’s kind of amazing.”

“Amazing?” Josie already loves Hope and knows how wonderful she is, but she is surprised by her sister’s description of her.

“Yeah. She’s good for you.”

The van starts up once Alaric gets in it and they begin to drive to the restaurant. It’s a quiet ride, everyone mostly silent and sad due to the loss. Heads are lowered, eyes are downcast, and the gazes that are pointed up are cold glares set on Landon.

No one says it aloud, but everyone screams: _fuck Landon_.

Maybe they could have won, if he hadn’t yanked her into that kiss inappropriately. It was too out of place and vulgar, and pretty much screwed up their entire performance.

On the way out of the van, Kaleb bumps his side roughly into Landon’s. “You know we lost ‘cause of you.”

Landon has the decency not to respond and start an argument, instead dropping his head while he walks into the restaurant. At least five different people glare at his back.

Their parents are already in the restaurant, most likely having just arrived, judging by the way they are still standing around and not seated yet. MG and his mom are at the front, talking to a waiter about something (presumably their table) and all the other parents are engaging in quiet, awkward conversation.

There is no sign of the Mikaelsons.

Josie hugs her arms to her chest, feeling oddly cold without Hope near her. Somehow, she feels a little guilty, even though it wasn’t her fault. She didn’t ask Hope to hit Landon and she definitely didn’t ask Landon to kiss her.

It’s no one’s fault that Hope’s parents know now, but it feels like it should be somebody’s.

It feels like it should be Landon’s.

“Greasleys, your table is ready.” A waitress calls out to them all. A flicker of surprise flashes along her face at how many people stand up, like she hadn’t read the reservation in advance.

Everyone follows after her, including Landon, who appears too calm and innocent for Josie’s liking. He has his arm slung over his mother’s shoulder and is speaking to her in a hushed tone while his other hand forms a cover over his nose (he should really go to the hospital, no one wants him here anyways).

How is any of this fair? Landon gets dinner and a ton of coddling from his mom and Hope gets…

Josie doesn’t know what Hope gets, because she has no idea where Hope is. Surely, Hope would have called or texted at this point, but of course Josie wouldn’t be able to respond. She wonders if Hope is messaging her now, thinking about her with the same concern, probably trying to figure out why Josie isn’t texting her back.

Shit. What if Hope thinks Josie is avoiding her or ditching her or something?

It must show on her face how upset she is, since Landon slows to walk with her before they reach the dinner table.

“Hey, Josie.” He tries at a half-smile, but he has to know that he’s fucked up, because it fades as soon as it comes.

Josie barely spares him a glance. “Don’t talk to me.”

Landon nods once and wisely decides to sit on the opposite side of their extra long table.

In reality, their extra long table is actually three different tables pushed together to form one. A checkered red and white tablecloth lays over it all to give the illusion of unity, but Josie feels more separated from everyone than ever. Most of the club members who were uninvolved in the drama sit off to the right side, while Penelope and Maya bring their respective families to the middle.

Penelope is arguing with her little brother about whether or not he can wear a Spider-Man mask in a restaurant, while Maya and Ethan are quietly discussing ordering garlic bread.

The Saltzmans sit to the left of them, near the few empty chairs where the Mikaelsons would be.

“So.” Alaric clears his throat. “How’s school going with you two?”

Josie picks up a menu instead of answering. She feels like a child on the edge of a tantrum, like if she opens her mouth she’ll scream, cry, or split right down the middle and crumble to ash. With that in mind, she keeps her lips firmly pressed together, allowing the silence to stretch on.

Alaric sighs.

They continue to read over their menus without saying a word to each other, except for when the bread comes and Lizzie asks for butter.

Josie tries to eat a couple slices, but bile rises to her throat before she can swallow. How can she try to eat when she is so worried? How can she eat while anxiety curls in her stomach, heavy and sickening? How can she do anything other than think about Hope?

She feels like she might throw up.

“I’m going to use the bathroom.” Josie mutters and stands before her dad can protest. She turns to leave and immediately collides with somebody else, accidentally bumping them backwards. “Oh. I’m sorry—“

The words fall short as she sees who it is, her breath getting caught in her throat.

“ _Hope_.”

She sounds too affected for her own good, her voice holding a distinctly soft tone that brings a faint, rosy color to Hope’s cheeks, but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter, because Hope is _here_.

Finally.

“H-Hey.” Josie greets, tripping over her words as she glances back at the rest of the Mikaelsons.

Do they always have to look so scary?

“Hey.” Hope replies, and it’s just a simple word, but it feels like a lot, like Hope is trying to tell her a secret that Josie can’t figure out.

“Lets sit, shall we?” Klaus gestures to the empty spots at the table.

Josie’s heart jumps once she realizes that they’re going to be sitting together. She isn’t sure if it is out of fear or pure adoration for how pretty Hope looks tonight, but she guesses it’s a weird mix of both.

The Mikaelsons sit down.

Hope sits right next to Josie, while her parents sit across from them. It’s only tense for a couple of seconds before a waiter comes along and asks for their orders. Everyone asks for a pasta dish, except for Hope, who opts for salad, and Josie, who isn’t sure she can handle anything more than a small bowl of soup right now.

The silence from before stretches on to the point of it being uncomfortable.

Josie pretends not to feel anyone’s eyes on her, but she gets the sense that multiple people are staring right at her. Landon? Klaus? Hope? She lifts her eyes for a second and confirms all three.

Another group of people at another table are talking amongst themselves, sharing food and happy smiles while they eat. Alaric must catch wind of their conversation and think they should be doing something similar, because he sits up enough to draw attention to himself.

“You guys were great, you know.” He takes a sip from his glass and quiets down slightly at all of the cold stares he receives. “Even if you lost. It doesn’t mean you didn’t try.”

“Thanks, dad.” Lizzie says, in a tone that reads: please shut up now.

Alaric seems to understand, since he decides to busy himself with his bread instead of speaking. The table grows quiet again, the space around them thick with tension. It’s hard to draw a breath while surrounded by so many glares and forced, passive aggressive smiles.

Hope stands up suddenly, her chair scraping against the floor. “I’m going to find a restroom.”

Josie watches her go.

Was that an invitation or…?

She can’t tell. Josie really thinks that they need to pick a better meeting spot, because the few seconds where she has to awkwardly decide whether it’s okay or not to follow Hope into the bathroom are embarrassing.

“I’m going, too.” Josie gets up, eager to finally talk to Hope.

Klaus and Alaric look close to protesting, but she ignores them and rushes off in the direction Hope went.

Josie wanders around for a minute, not entirely sure where the bathroom actually is, but finds the door soon enough. She slips inside as quickly as possible and barely gets a chance to access her surroundings before Hope is pressing up against her insistently.

“Hope—“

Much like their first kiss, it takes Josie by surprise and she gasps, finding herself pinned to the door in no time.

Their lips collide messily, urgently, almost as if Hope is scared she will run away and trying to keep her close. Josie’s knees nearly buckle at the roughness of it, a pleasant groan working its way up her throat. She almost forgets everything that is going on. Hope’s mouth is as hot as a fire and threatens to melt Josie from the inside out.

It’s torture to pull away, but Josie manages to do so, her head swimming.

Hope continues, pressing searing kisses to the underside of Josie’s jaw. “I just- I want you, in case it’s the last time. I _want_ you.”

That makes Josie pause.

“The last time?” She grips Hope’s shoulders to stop her, holding her at arm’s-length.

Hope visibly swallows and avoids Josie’s eyes, fixing her gaze on the ground until Josie gently tilts her head up with two fingers.

“I don’t know what he’ll do with me.” Hope admits after a short while. “We didn’t really get a chance to talk a lot because of dinner, but… he’s really mad, Jo. I think he hates me.”

Josie shakes her head. “He doesn’t hate you.”

“No, you didn’t see the way he looked at me. It was like I wasn’t his daughter anymore, like he was disgusted.” Hope leans closer, not to kiss her, but to bury her head in the crook of Josie’s neck.

It breaks Josie’s heart.

She wraps her arms around Hope, trailing a hand down along Hope’s spine and feeling the first, light tremors of Hope starting to cry. Josie holds Hope close, unwilling to leave even an inch of space between them. Hope clings back just as desperately, but it does nothing to reassure her that things are going to be okay, not when Hope is hugging her like it’s the last time they will ever touch.

“He hates me.” Hope repeats, this time breathing the words out wetly into Josie’s neck.

“Maybe he just needs time.” Josie whispers, in an attempt to give Hope hope (horrible word play).

“No, no. It was worse than Freya.” Hope steps back, not very far, and wipes at her eyes with her hand. “With Freya, he just cast her aside and we stopped talking about her, but I’m his daughter, so it’s different. I’m a disgrace. I brought shame to the whole family, and _in public_ , too.”

Those last few lines sound like someone else’s words, but Hope speaks them strongly anyways.

“He was so mad...” She trails off, rubbing her wrist with her thumb absentmindedly. Josie’s eyes trace the action, narrowing when they fall on the barely-there pink lines, the beginning hints of a bruise.

“Wait, Hope.” Josie draws her back in seriously. “He didn’t hit you, did he?”

“He wouldn’t do that.” Hope responds, but her certainty seems to falter in seconds. “He just pulled me a little too hard. It’s fine.”

Josie has the urge to march out there and hit him. She waits for herself to calm down, but she doesn’t. She also doesn’t actually do it, because the idea is entirely irrational and Klaus is very obviously stronger than her.

Plus, he is still Hope’s father. Assaulting a family member doesn’t sound like the way to a girl’s heart.

“Don’t do anything.” Hope advises and Josie pretends to be shocked.

“I wasn’t going to.” She lies and it must be the right move, because Hope smiles softly, the sad expression beginning to drain from her face.

“You were pouting.”

“I wasn’t.”

“But you were.”

“But I wasn’t.”

Hope laughs, a bright sound in the darkness, and taps Josie’s lower lip with her finger. Josie allows it, staying still while Hope pokes her. She smiles once Hope takes her hand away, pleased with the contact and the light noises she can bring out of Hope.

It’s truly a sight to see. Hope is so beautiful like this, in these quiet moments where they’re alone.

“I don’t know how you do it.” Hope says, taking Josie’s hands in her own and gently rubbing her thumbs over Josie’s knuckles.

Josie watches, in a trance, oddly breathless. “Do what?”

She can feel the steady beating in her chest speeding up. Hope is _always_ beautiful, but there is a special place in Josie’s heart for Hope’s grin.

“You make me so happy.” Hope replies, her skin pinkening a little.

“You make me happy, too.” Josie giggles brightly, pleased with Hope’s shyness and her admission. She leans forward and kisses Hope’s forehead sweetly. “Extremely, incredibly, happy.”

Each word is punctuated with a kiss.

When Josie leans back, Hope’s face is beet red. It delights Josie to know that she still has such a strong effect on Hope, even though they’ve been dating for a bit now. She likes knowing that she can cheer Hope up, even though they have to go back outside and face the madness soon.

She holds onto Hope for as long as she can, but eventually someone knocks on the door and they have to pull apart.

“We need to stop meeting in bathrooms.” Hope laughs, her voice a bit strained from the crying.

“Yeah.” Josie agrees. “That sounds smart.”

Hope and Josie go outside, awkwardly passing a short line of women waiting to use the bathroom. Josie smiles at them apologetically as they return to their table.

Unfortunately, in the time that they were gone, all of the adults have gotten to their feet, including Seylah Kirby, and are now arguing vehemently.


	47. Chapter 47

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: homophobia & slut-shaming

Chaos doesn’t even begin to describe it.

The adults have turned to kids and the kids have turned to adults. While everyone who is in high school keeps their head down and quietly enjoys their respective meals, everyone who is middle aged launches into the loud, wild argument.

“You can’t just let your students assault my son.” Seylah jabs her finger into Alaric’s chest angrily.

“Oh, you want to talk about assault?” Alaric uses his slightly hysterical voice that Josie has only heard during particularly harsh scoldings. “Your son sexually assaulted my daughter on stage an hour ago. What do you have to say about that?”

Seylah splutters, cheeks reddening.

Somewhere behind her, Landon hides his face in a menu and multiple teenagers nearby send him dirty looks, which only causes him to shrink even more.

“You can’t blame the boy.” Sebastian’s mom, Ms. Hayes lifts her shoulders in a delicate shrug.

This, of course, draws several stares.

“What?”

Ms. Hayes stands to join the rest of the restless, unruly adults and politely wipes her mouth with a napkin before interjecting with a surprisingly high voice.

“Your daughter is a tease.” She says, finally, eyes directed at Alaric. Seylah nods in agreement. “All of us have seen those short, little skirts she trots around in. She’s practically begging for it in them, it’s no wonder Hope was perverted.”

Josie tugs at the hem of her dress to try and get it to seem longer, embarrassed at the attention.

“You did not just slut-shame my sister.” Lizzie places a hand over her mouth like someone just got slapped. “Dad, _do something.”_

Alaric obviously tries to come up with a response but has never been great about forming proper words, so he ends up stammering as if he has a heavy weight tied to his tongue. Lizzie sighs and sadly shakes her head, mumbling something that sounds like _pathetic_.

“Hope isn’t a pervert.” Hayley protests, when Alaric fails to do so. “And neither is Josie.”

Klaus is suspiciously quiet.

Everyone is suspiciously quiet for a moment. No one expected Hayley to stick up for them. Josie is taken aback but grateful for having someone to defend her when her father isn’t. She wishes that she could defend herself, but, like most other children, Josie has been raised not to argue so intensely with adults, and she can’t get past the built-in voice in her head that instructs her to be silent and respectful.

“If anything, the only pervert is Landon.” Maya’s mom remarks, staying seated but speaking loud enough to be heard.

“Landon isn’t to blame.” Seylah insists firmly. Josie spots Kaleb rolling his eyes while trying to scarf down a fork full of pasta. “We all know Josie and Hope are the perverts here. I can’t believe I let my child around sin. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hope already gave up her virginity to the little tramp.”

If there were a way to sink into the ground and never return, Josie would be taking it right now.

Not only does she make horribly uncomfortable eye contact with her dad, but she also catches an awkward glimpse of Hayley and Klaus’ eyes.

Oh god.

“Hope has a celibacy pledge.” Klaus cuts in and, unlike the others, speaks in a calm tone. It sends icy shivers up Josie’s spine regardless, her blood solidifying to stone. “She wouldn’t do that.”

_Ahem_.

“Well, clearly she’s not very devoted to her faith now.” Seylah shrugs carelessly. Ms. Hayes nods beside her. They seem to be in cahoots.

“What are you trying to say?” Hayley leans onto the table, the space between her and Seylah lessening.

All of the moms share equally shady glances. It reminds Josie of her time spent swapping petty insults and backhanded compliments in middle school. They wear thin, tight smiles that hide any true feelings, and a couple of them even wave or nod at the waiters in passing to prevent causing a bigger scene. In fact, it almost seems as if they might stop fighting entirely to preserve some bit of dignity and maintain the ability to leave here without screaming at each other first.

That is, until Seylah finally speaks up.

“Fine. I’ll just spit out what we’re all thinking.” She takes a rather dramatic, deep breath, and looks Hayley directly in the eye. “Hayley, your daughter is a whore.”

Hayley slaps her.

Josie’s mouth falls open (Lizzie’s does as well, in perfect, creepy twin harmony), but she shouldn’t be surprised by Hayley diving across the table to hit someone. This is the woman who raised Hope after all, and Hope is the girl who beat Landon up only about an hour ago.

The apple does not fall far from the tree. Actually, it’s a little bit eerie how similar Hope and Hayley look.

“If you ever say something like that about my kid again, I swear to God I’ll—“

(Correction: the apple falls very, very close to the tree, enough that Hope and Hayley almost have the exact same word choice. Jeez. Josie thought twins were overly connected.)

“Stop it! Stop it, all of you.” All of a sudden Hope throws up her hands, visibly exasperated.

Josie had been too consumed by the argument to do more than glance at her girlfriend, but now that Josie looks at her thoroughly, she can see the clear anger on Hope’s face.

“Josie is not a slut _or_ a pervert.” Hope continues, pointing a finger at Seylah. “And if you ever call her that again, I’ll slap you, too.”

Hope’s hand trembles slightly, just a bit, and she has the sudden, untamable urge to swipe a hand down Hope’s back to calm her down. Josie stops herself from doing so, only because Hope looks to be in the middle of doing something.

_Something_ means defending Josie. Again.

Josie’s untamable urge quickly switches to the need to kiss Hope senseless. Another thing she will refrain from doing in front of their families.

“Hope.” Klaus scolds. “You can’t speak to adults like that.”

“Well, obviously, I just did.” Hope snaps, and then seems to shrink when she fully realizes _who_ she is snapping at.

This time, Josie does run a soothing hand down Hope’s back. She feels Hope’s muscles relax in an instant, the tense set of her shoulders falling.

Hope deflates entirely, her bright eyes dimming.

“Every moment that I’ve spent with Josie has been the happiest of my entire life, and I don’t know why you would want to take that away from me. Don’t you want me to be happy? Don’t you love me at all?”

Silence.

It’s as if Hope Mikaelson was a wildfire, full of life and on a pathway to destruction, and now she’s been put out by the rain.

Something in her eyes dies.

Josie looks between Hope and Klaus, hoping in the deepest part of her heart that he’ll speak up and at least reassure her that she’s loved.

(It’s _Hope_. Josie couldn’t imagine not loving her completely, entirely, with her whole soul.)

They seem to stare at each other for a while, the silence more telling than words.

Josie silently begs him to say something.

_Anything_.

He doesn’t.

“Okay. That’s…” Hope trails off, already heading for the exit. “Okay.”

She watches Hope go, disappearing out into the night at a rapid pace. Is this what Hope feels all the time? This burning, red-hot anger? Josie can feel the edges of her mind splintering, pushing her to do something vengeful and stupid. She takes a deep, calming breath to soothe herself and is not surprised when the rage barely goes away.

Lizzie raises a hand to her own head, frowning.

“You know what? I hope you burn in hell.” Then, in a quieter, more polite tone, Josie adds, “Also, thank you for the meal, Mrs. Greasley.”

What?

Mrs. Greasley paid and didn’t insult her once. It’s only polite to say thank you.

Josie runs after Hope. She doesn’t have to walk very far before she stumbles across Hope out on the sidewalk, curled up in a ball on some steps, looking a hundred times smaller than ever. Hope lifts her head when she hears Josie approaching, the streetlights revealing how swollen and puffy her face has gotten from crying.

“Oh, Hope.” Josie practicality pulls Hope into her lap in an effort to comfort her.

Hope doesn’t say anything in response.

Josie gets the sense that she couldn’t speak if she tried. She hears Hope hiccup a few times, but Josie can’t really make out any solid words through the sobs. Hope’s body trembles violently against her own, never showing any signs of any end to the tears. Josie holds her tighter without a second thought.

More than anything, she just wants Hope safe. It would take death to split Josie from Hope’s arms now, with how surely they cling together.

It feels like hours have passed by the time Hope stops shaking, her cries subsiding.

“Will you keep holding me?” Hope murmurs her request into the crook of Josie’s neck, wetting the skin.

Is that even a question?

Josie nods. “Yes, of course. Always.”

“And forever?”

“Always and forever.” Josie repeats the phrase unknowingly, but it must mean something to Hope, because she lifts her head high enough to peck Josie’s lips lightly.

She doesn’t know what she’s done, exactly, but it feels as if she’s now locked in a promise.

The promise feels like a thousand things - love, hope, and family. Things that should overwhelm or frighten Josie at her young age, but don’t. If anything, having Hope gaze at her as if she has just hung the moon and stars makes Josie want to hang on for eternity.

She doesn’t say any of this aloud.

It’s too much for high school. It could scare Hope away, even if Hope is usually the one who makes the big, grand gestures in this relationship. Josie needs to calm down before she says something silly.

Hope traces her finger over the curve of Josie’s cheeks and the slope of her jaw, so tenderly that Josie visibly shivers. Her face turns pink. Hope smirks, just barely.

Maybe Josie will say it after all.

“Distract me.” Hope requests, finally dropping her hand from Josie’s face to her hip.

“How?”

“I don’t know.” Hope shrugs and sniffles, wiping under her drying eye. “Surprise me, _Josette_.”

Josie resists the urge to roll her eyes at the use of her real name, because it slips through Hope’s mouth playfully and ends with a flicker of a smile.

“Uh.” She thinks for a moment, bottom lip drawn between her teeth, and ignores how Hope’s eyes follow the action. “I like plants. I don’t know why I haven’t mentioned that to you, yet. It’s not, like, a _secret_ or anything. I guess I like flowers the most ‘cause they’re pretty, but mostly I think I just like being able to give something life, even if it’s tiny. It makes me feel more important… it’s kind of silly.”

Hope shakes her head. “It’s not silly.”

Sometimes, Hope’s gaze unexpectedly clings to her as if she is telling the secrets of the universe, even when Josie is only speaking of something as mundane as plants. This is one of those times.

Josie finds it hard to speak while holding Hope’s full attention this way. So, she doesn’t.

Instead, she traces every little detail of Hope’s face with her eyes as if it’s the first time she has ever seen it. It’s just as beautiful as before, and looking at it causes Josie’s heart to swell and her chest to grow heavy with the weight of it.

“You have a cute nose.” Josie blurts and Hope barks out a laugh, surprised.

“Well.” Hope honest-to-god giggles. Child. “You have a cute chin.”

“You have cute ears.”

“You have cute… everything. I win!” Hope’s fist is in the air all of a sudden and Josie doubles over laughing, watching her pump it.

“It wasn’t a competition.” She points out.

“M’kay, loser.” Hope seems genuinely happy over the small win, so when Josie pouts like a toddler and drags out the mediocre joke for far longer than it should go, it’s just because she wants to keep a smile on Hope’s face for as long as she possibly can. And Hope knows this, whispers it into Josie’s hair, minutes later when laughter has reverted back to cuddling. “Thank you for trying to cheer me up.”

Oh.

It always surprises Josie whenever Hope can tell exactly what she’s trying to do.

“It’s nothing, you’re easily amused.” She brushes it off, twisting until she has an arm slung across Hope’s waist. “We can still talk about it, if you want.”

Josie waits.

And waits.

And waits.

“I guess I just thought he would come around at some point. I know where he’s coming from, but it’s a disappointment that he can’t see how happy I’ve become.” Hope fiddles with her hands, then Josie’s, interlacing their fingers repeatedly.

Hope brings their hands up to her mouth, kisses Josie’s knuckles almost absentmindedly.

“It’s embarrassing.” She continues. “Not _us_. I’m not ashamed of that anymore, I just hate having everyone look at me like I’m a kicked puppy that needs to be coddled. I loathe being pitied. And I hated how everyone talked about you in there. I wanted to kill them, but I… I guess I didn’t want to scare you with my anger.”

Hope swallows something heavy, and then in a rush says, “I hope you know I’d never hurt you or do anything, Jo, really, I—“

“I know you wouldn’t.” Josie assurses her gently, cutting off Hope’s spiel. “That’s not who you are. Besides, I trust you completely.”

Hope features soften and she tips closer, slowly, to kiss Josie. Josie meets her halfway, with one hand on the back of her neck to cradle her close. Their mouths meet sweetly, instantly melting into each other, but it’s over far too quickly for Josie’s liking.

“Um.” Someone clears their throat nearby.

Josie quickly pries her mouth off of Hope’s once she sees Hayley standing there, not-watching them kiss with a mildly uncomfortable expression on her face. Her cheeks warm at being caught kissing Hope so obviously, but it isn’t exactly the first time Hayley has walked in on them being intimate.

Unfortunately.

She’s still Hope’s mother, after all. Josie would like to try and keep up her good reputation.

“Mom, hey. What are you doing here?” Hope wipes her thumb over her mouth, badly hiding how she is now wearing Josie’s lip gloss.

“I noticed you girls didn’t eat.” Hayley bounces on her heels, somewhat awkwardly. “I also noticed that there’s a burger place down the street, and we haven’t gotten burgers since you were a kid, Hope. So, if you and Josie want to… maybe we could chat a little.”

“Josie’s a vegetarian.”

Hayley shrugs and tries to appear careless, but it’s clear that she is trying hard to stay nonchalant after everything that’s happened. The movement is too calculated, her smiles too forced, but she’s _trying_.

“I’ll buy her one of those gross, vegan ones.” She glances quickly at Josie. “No offense, of course.”

_Trying_.

Josie checks to make sure it’s okay with Hope (they speak through their eyes) before she nods.

“Okay.” Josie stands, pulling Hope up with her. “Thank you for inviting me.”

The odd trio goes down the rest of the sidewalk together in silence. It’s a little awkward, since all of them haven't purposefully spent time with each other before, but Josie feels giddy and nervous at the chance to get to spend quality time with her girlfriend’s mom.

And not the intimidating, scary type of quality time the Mikaelsons seem so accustomed to.

The burger place isn’t great, but Josie is biased because of her distaste for meat. Hope certainly seems to enjoy it and that is enough for Josie. In fact, it’s more than enough. She orders a veggie burger, as aforementioned, along with fries and a vanilla milkshake she shares with Hope. It’s hard to miss the little moments that make Hope’s lips stretch into a grin - Hayley not batting an eye at Hope and Josie passing a drink back and forth, Hayley ordering water instead of wine, and Josie trying (and failing) to open a pack of ketchup for a solid five minutes.

Once they’re done hungrily wolfing down their food like animals, there’s not much to say.

Hayley drums her fingers on the table and offers a tight smile. “I guess I should have guessed all of this earlier, when Hope was obsessed with Wonder Woman in the third grade.”

Josie can’t help but giggle at Hope’s scandalized expression.

“My liking for Wonder Woman was _completely_ average.” Hope protests, but the rising color on her face tells a different story. Josie pokes her leg under the table and Hope’s features go soft. “Maybe I had a tiny, tiny little crush…”

They all start to talk.

Josie learns a bunch of random, new facts about Hayley, like that she loves the mountains and will drag anyone she can up there for a long hike. It’s always better to have more whip cream than less in Hayley’s opinion, and less sprinkles than more. Josie also learns that Hayley’s favorite color is a tie between black and red, and her favorite food is steak, but only from the place in New Orleans where they cook it with special spices.

Those special spices are, apparently, just salt and pepper, according to Hope.

This leads into some good-natured teasing about how Hope never seasons her meat properly, and that it always tastes bland, which gets Hope to frown so adorably that Josie has to physically stop herself from showering her in kisses.

It’s a nice time.

Eventually, it gets very dark out and Josie is sure that she has had one too many milkshakes.

“I’m going to use the bathroom.” Josie says and has to rest a hand on Hope’s arm when she gets up, too. “I’m actually using the bathroom, don’t join me this time.”

Hayley watches the interaction, wide-eyed.

They may have some explaining to do in the future, but that’s certainly not happening now.

Josie is so full that she has to walk away slowly, clutching her stomach quite unattractively (she’s glad that she is facing away from Hope when she does this), and hears the start of a conversation between Hope and Hayley.

“You’re really okay with this?” Hope asks.

“You’re my daughter, Hope, and I want you to be happy. So, if Josie’s it for you, then I support you both.”

“Thank you. She is _it_ for me. She’s amazing.”

Oh, okay. So Josie might just have to stop in the bathroom and cry out of love.

Yes, it’s that type of night.


	48. Chapter 48

Josie exits the bathroom, still warm from her bath and dripping water onto the floor. The hotel’s tub is magnificent. An air of lavender surrounds her as she tries to dry off her hair, musing it up with a towel, and successfully does so without wetting her pajama top.

It feels like the only win of the night.

They haven’t gone out all day. At some point, all the boys went out to get food and dropped by to invite the girls for New York-style pizza and New York-style cheesecake, but Josie and Hope said no. Or more, Hope said no and Josie agreed like they shared the same brain for a moment. Lizzie, Penelope, and Maya all hesitated, but eventually accepted the invitation. Dana didn’t hesitate at all. Josie gets it. She wants to experience New York-style _everything_ , too, but she wants to stay with Hope more.

Josie is not entirely sure Hope is okay. Actually, she is around ninety-nine percent sure Hope is far from okay, but Hope smiles at her gently as she leaves the bathroom, so Josie will hold onto that one percent.

“Hey.” Josie greets. “You feeling okay?”

The bed dips as she joins Hope on it and curls up at her side. Hope hums at the question, but gives no answer, and rests her head on Josie’s own.

“You smell nice.” Hope grumbles sleepily against Josie’s hair. Josie giggles and buries her hands under Hope’s hoodie. She’s so warm. “Do you think we could order room service?”

“It’ll piss my dad off, so… yes.”

Josie still feels a little spiteful towards her father for taking away her phone and for not bothering to come in and check on Hope.

Hope sighs and when she does Josie can feel a puff of breath. “You can’t be mad at him forever.”

“Yes, I can.” She replies, because she’s got all of these big, lovey-dovey, squishy feelings for Hope and she can’t believe anyone would be so rude or insensitive to Hope. Josie kind of hates all of the parents right now, except for MG’s mom and Hayley. “Mrs. Kirby basically called me a slut and he didn’t even stand up for me. He’s the worst.”

Hope is quiet for a long, uncomfortable moment and then she stiffens up and twists away from Josie slightly.

“Hope?” Josie frowns, confused.

Oh.

It takes a second to click, but Josie gets it. Here she is, complaining about her admittedly decent father, and just yesterday Hope’s own dad pretty much kicked her out of the family. Josie feels like a dick.

“I’m sorry.” Josie strokes her hand along Hope’s back and feels Hope loosen up some. “I didn’t mean to bring up—“

“Can we not talk about parents today?” She asks softly and Josie nods. They can do that.

“Sure. Of course.”

Josie tries to grab the room service menu off of the nightstand, but she’s held down by a Hope sized weight. Her fingers barely skim the edge of the nightstand. She doesn’t even get to reach the menu, for god’s sake. Hope didn’t take a shower so she doesn’t smell as good as Josie, but she’s as hot as a furnace and strong enough to anchor Josie down to the mattress. Josie is a bit hungry, since she didn’t get a chance to eat anything New York-style, but all she can think is _oh, that’s precious_ as Hope cuddles up to her.

“Hope?” Josie giggles, no longer attempting to get that menu that now feels a mile away. “Are you going to let me go, honey?”

Hope turns pink almost instantly.

(Later, Josie will tease her about it and Hope will deny it or make up a lie about how she’s pale so she blushes easily, but Josie just knows Hope is a softy.)

“Too mushy?” Josie asks, referring to the pet name. Hope shakes her head after a second.

“No.” Hope tugs Josie closer, so now they’re just hugging in a horizontal position. Josie is situated between Hope’s legs and draped all over her like a blanket, but Hope doesn’t seem to mind. “I like your mush.”

Hope frowns, her eyebrows scrunching together, because that sentence sounded weird.

“I mean that in a non-creepy way.” Hope clarifies.

Oh, god. She’s _cute_. Josie already knew that, but it’s still nice to see. Who knew the grouchy, head cheerleader could be so soft?

“It’s not creepy. It’s cute.” Josie is still firmly set in the honeymoon phase and loving it. At times, she swears she could swoon over something as easy as Hope breathing. Like now, she can’t resist the urge to kiss Hope’s forehead. “When did you get so adorable?”

“Are you just now realizing that I’m adorable? I’ve been attractive for a while.” Hope complains, like she’s actually offended, but there’s a teasing look in her eye.

“And you’re so modest about it, too.”

Hope laughs at the comment and Josie chooses that moment to surge forward and press her lips against Hope’s own, forcing a breathy sound of surprise out of Hope. Josie will literally say or do anything she has to to keep hearing that noise. Apparently, she doesn’t really have to do much. She swipes her tongue over the seam of Hope’s mouth, very lightly, and Hope moans again and opens up for her.

Kissing Hope is the best. It never gets old. Josie can’t imagine ever getting tired of it. Hope’s lips are so soft and Josie’s dumb, horny brain can’t resist her for even a second.

Hope is responsive, too. She moans readily and eagerly arches up into every single one of Josie’s touches. Josie runs her fingers up Hope’s sides and teases the skin around Hope’s ribs with a bit of delicate pressure. Hope shivers noticeably, as if they’ve never done this before, and huffs when Josie pulls away.

“Don’t go.” Hope says, probably without thinking, and turns redder when she realizes what she said. She was already pink from exertion, but now it’s a full-fledged blush.

“I’m not going to.” Josie assures. She had just been planning on getting enough room between them to take her shirt off, but now Hope looks embarrassed, and Josie can’t have that. “I’m not going anywhere. Seriously, okay?”

Silently, Hope nods her head and makes a vague hand gesture that Josie isn’t able to decipher.

“Okay.” Hope responds finally, and Josie decides to take the chance to actually swipe the menu off the nightstand. “Can we split an appetizer?”

“Sure.”

They order a shit ton of food.

Josie appreciated the dinner Hayley paid for, but that was last night, and now neither of them have eaten in twenty-four hours. Hope is usually picky about what she eats, but she doesn’t seem to be in the mood to be very specific. A combined mix of hunger, recklessness, and (on Josie’s side) spite towards Alaric, leads them to ordering way too much food.

Josie isn’t even sure they can eat it all. Honestly, it makes her feel a bit guilty for wasting food, but she figures they can keep the leftovers and what they won’t eat, Lizzie probably will.

Thirty minutes later, one of the hotel employees is wheeling in a large table of food.

“Do you ladies want to put it on the room?” The man asks and sets down utensils next to a plate of grilled steak, seasoned with some kind of red paste and accompanied by a side of vegetables.

“Yes, please.” Josie chirps immediately.

The employee dips out politely after Josie tips him and shuts the door behind him. Josie opens up a can of pink lemonade he left with a glass of ice, but she can just _feel_ Hope’s eyes lingering on her.

“What?”

“You’re enjoying this way too much.” Hope points out. She shifts on the bed until she can get her plate in her lap.

“Enjoying what?”

Hope raises an eyebrow and does it perfectly, which is unfair, but gets the point across.

Okay, so maybe Josie _is_ really enjoying raising her father’s bill, but she almost never rebels, and this isn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things.

“I’m enjoying it a proper amount.” Josie replies, not missing the second eye roll Hope throws her. It holds less weight this time. “How’s your steak?”

“Mhmm—“

Hope tries to respond. _Tries_. Her mouth is full of food, cheeks puffed up and rounded, and all that comes out is a muffled noise. She sounds happy. Looks pleased, too, with her eyes shut pleasantly and a blissed-out expression on her face. Josie has never seen her look so content over food. All Hope usually eats are dressing-less salads and protein bars (no offense to Hope, but ew).

“It’s good.” She murmurs, once she’s swallowed, and dabs at the edge of her mouth with a napkin.

Josie snatches one of the cloths off the table and uses them as a makeshift oven mitt. She picks a steaming hot plate up and manages to carry it about halfway to the bed before someone knocks again.

It’s most likely room service again, they probably just forgot something. No biggie.

_“Hope, Josie! Open up!”_

Alright, it’s not room service, then.

“Ugh.” Hope groans while Josie puts her food back down. “Penelope.”

_“I can hear you, Mikaelson!”_

Josie giggles as Hope’s groaning grows more dramatic. “She can hear you, Mikaelson.”

“Don’t call me Mikaelson.”

Josie smirks coyly.

“So, just honey, then? Or sweetie? Or baby?”

Somehow, Hope manages to stab at her plate hard enough to split a large chunk of meat in half and get her annoyance/embarrassment across.

“Oh my god!” It’s Lizzie, this time. “My ears!”

(Who knew the walls were that thin?)

Josie bounces over to the door, still chuckling, and yanks it open.

Penelope practically bulldozes through Josie on her way to get in, excitedly blabbering on about how _New York City is the best_ and _is that steak, did you order steak without us?_ Maya follows, although much less enthusiastically, and Lizzie and Dana step in with enough shopping bags that Josie has to help them from tipping over. To her surprise, MG trails in after them, equally weighed down by begs that are no doubt Lizzie’s.

“Jesus.” Josie eyes all the bags. “How much did you buy?”

“We went shopping and got lunch. I ordered too much, but I figured whatever I wouldn’t eat you would, so…” Lizzie points towards the leftovers.

Josie had thought the exact same thing about the dinner she just ordered. Twins are weird.

“You got pizza _and_ fries?” MG gives her puppy dog eyes and she sighs.

“Go ahead.”

MG piles a handful of fries onto a slice of pizza and bows, oddly gracefully with a boy who has a leaning tower of food, and leaves.

Lizzie toes off her heels and sinks a few inches, exhaling in relief at getting out of her shoes. “Jo, I’ve got so much to show you.”

“Then, show me.”

“Don’t rush me, fashion takes time…” Lizzie is mostly muttering to herself by now, pulling out different clothing items from her bags and laying them out on the chair.

Finally, Josie is able to actually eat her food. It’s still warm, thankfully. Penelope and Maya are already sitting on either side of Hope, stealing bits and pieces of steak while Hope tries to swat them away with her fork, so the only logical spot for Josie to sit in is on Hope’s lap. She plants herself there and curls up like a kitten.

Speaking of kittens, they should really buy Yoda something while they’re here.

“We went to get bagels, which were to die for, but then Landon dropped his so he had to split one with Kaleb. Landon kept walking around, looking like some sort of depressed muppet, but I didn’t let him ruin my shopping.” Clearly. Lizzie must have bought an entire store somehow. “I bought this coat - don’t worry, Jo, it’s faux fur - and it…”

That’s when Josie begins to check out. Her eyes drift up to Hope, who is too busy balancing her plate in her hands to notice Josie’s staring.

“You okay?” Josie whispers. They _are_ crowding Hope quite a lot and she doesn’t want to make her too uncomfortable. Hope nods and squeezes Josie’s leg back in confirmation.

“...and Raf dropped his ice cream cone.” Lizzie rambles on and doesn’t stop until the end of the night.

All of the girls (even Dana) end up sleeping in the same bed after falling asleep listening to Lizzie’s stories. Although the twins planned for leftovers, the plates are cleaned and empty by midnight. It feels weird to sleep with five other people in the same bed, but Josie manages to sleep and wake up without putting much of a strain on her body.

Not to say that Josie sleeps comfortably because she doesn’t. Lizzie has her foot shoved in Josie’s face for the majority of the night and Dana’s nails are long and digging into Josie’s ankle, but Hope half-spoons her and that raises the night up to a solid seven out of ten.

“Hope.”

Josie tries to get Hope up before everyone else, knowing she didn’t shower last night, but Hope sleeps like the dead and is stubborn even while unconscious.

“Hope.” Josie repeats, prodding at her. Hope stirs but doesn’t open her eyes. “Hope, I know you’re awake.”

A pause.

Hope’s eyes suspiciously shut tighter.

“...no I’m not.”

Josie huffs fondly and tries not to giggle at the way Hope sleepily cracks an eye open, almost like she thinks she’s stealthy enough to convince Josie that she is actually sleeping.

(It’s cute, but it won’t work.)

“C’mon.” She taps Hope’s arm. “You stink.”

“I don’t stink.”

“You do, but it’s okay.” Josie assures and traces Hope’s jaw with her fingertips. The action might be a little too light to really wake Hope up, but Hope is beautiful and soft, and Josie can’t help but touch her delicately. “If you get up now, I’ll shower with you.”

There is suddenly a shifting noise coming from beside them and Penelope is wiggling out from under Maya to glare at both Hope and Josie.

“Oh god. My poor, virgin ears.” Penelope groans, although she’s hardly a virgin. She kicks at Hope hard enough to nudge her out of the bed. “Please go flirt elsewhere. Save my innocence.”

Josie laughs, while Hope scowls, but Josie does manage to get Hope up and to the bathroom with her.

The rest of the morning is far less interesting.

They have to pack up their suitcases (and many, many bags, in Lizzie’s case) and head right back to the airport. The club doesn’t seem as deterred by their loss as before, but the parents are firmly set in their decision to glare at each other and be generally unpleasant.

Mrs. Kirby and Mrs. Hayes seem particularly peaved, drifting away from the group with their respective sons in tow. Sebastian, to his credit, doesn’t look to be speaking to Landon.

Everyone else is equally as quiet. It’s early. The lack of caffeine is clearly getting to everyone.

“Dad is pissed.” Lizzie whisper-hisses to Josie and tries to shrink down in an obvious attempt to hide from Alaric, wherever he is. “How much did you spend last night?”

“I don’t know.”

Josie follows Lizzie’s lead and crouches down a bit, but that quickly starts to feel ridiculous. They are probably some of the tallest people here, and if Josie slouches too much then she can’t keep an eye on Hope. Hope takes first priority.

She doubts anything too bad will happen in an airport, but Klaus still scares her. What if he does something to Hope? What if he _hurts_ her?

“Lizzie, this is ridiculous.” Josie stands up fully.

“Fine.”

Josie scans the crowd with her eyes and tries to spot Hope in the airport, but Hope is so tiny that she’s hard to find. That doesn’t stop Josie from trying. Her eyes sweep restlessly over the crowd once, twice, th—

“Jesus.” Lizzie sighs and points directly behind them. “Hope is over there.”

Oh. Was she really being so obvious?

Josie’s cheeks brighten slightly. “I wasn’t—“

“You _so_ were. It’s fine.” Her sister hands her five dollars. “Get me a coffee while you’re off lusting.”

“I’m not _lusting_.”

“Mhmm.”

Josie snatches the money out of Lizzie’s hand and follows the direction she pointed to. Hope isn’t far behind them, but she is standing oddly far away from the rest of the Mikaelsons. Klaus has his attention on his phone and Hayley isn’t anywhere to be found, so Hope is standing alone like some sort of orphan.

But, god, it’s Hope’s eyes that really hurt Josie’s heart. They’re sunken blue and empty, so clearly removed from the rest of the world that Hope doesn’t even seem to notice Josie approaching.

“Hi.” Josie says.

Hope’s eyes widen, startled, although Josie didn’t come out of nowhere. “Hey, Jo.”

Her shoulders are drawn up tight around ears, stiff and as tense as a statue. Hope looks as if the word ‘relax’ has been wiped clean from her vocabulary.

“You’re thinking too much.” Josie points out, not unkindly. Hope looks shocked that Josie noticed, but it’s obvious. At least, Josie thinks it’s obvious. Her perception of things might be a little bit off, considering she’s spent the majority of the week sneaking glances at Hope. “Do you want to talk about it or go get coffee? No pressure for either. I’m fine standing around and brooding.”

“I wasn’t brooding. I don’t brood.” She grumbles, but she’s grinning.

“Fine, then.” Josie concedes, grinning back. “You just stare intensely into space with a scowl on your face.”

“See? It’s not brooding. It’s _staring intensely.”_

Josie laughs, shaking her head at Hope’s antics, and Hope cracks a smile. Without thinking about it, Josie’s fingers begin to play with Hope’s own. She strokes over Hope’s palm absentmindedly, tracing the faint lines on her skin.

“So.” Josie prompts. “Coffee, talk, or both?”

She expects Hope to say coffee, because Hope had dodged the question a few seconds ago, but instead she ducks her head, uncharacteristically shy.

“I don’t want to bother you with all of this.”

Josie sighs.

“Hope, listening to you and making sure you’re okay isn’t a bother.” Josie doesn’t ask who made Hope feel like she has to bottle everything up all the time. They both know who. “I care about you. I love you. If you need to vent, I’ll listen. If you’re feeling badly about something, I want to know about it. If you want to brood, we can brood. If you want something, just ask.”

Josie is prepared to give Hope almost anything, everything.

Hope listens, eyes soft. “Okay, thank you. I want to talk, just not—“

Her head swivels around, looking at all of the other people surrounding them.

“Just not here.” She continues. “Can we sit next to each other on the plane?”

“Okay.”

“Good.” Hope breathes, the smile returning to her face. Something in Josie’s chest loosens, seeing Hope actually relax.

Josie leans over to tug Hope into a hug. She puts her arms around Hope’s waist and holds them in the right position for her chin to rest atop Hope’s head. Hope reciprocates without protest, feeling pliant and boneless in Josie’s arms. She’s much less tense from before. Good. Josie molds her front to Hope’s and presses her nose to the top of an auburn head, smelling the hotel’s lavender shampoo she rubbed into Hope’s scalp herself this morning.

“Thank you.” Hope repeats, and then in a smaller voice she adds, “I love you, too.”

Josie hugs her tighter.

“...can we get coffee, though? I’m sleepy.”

“Sure, Jo.”

—————

They go back home.

It would be much more accurate to say that they go back to Josie’s home, since Hope starts to spend most of her time there. Surprisingly, it’s not that big of a deal. Alaric doesn’t complain about Josie having her girlfriend over as long as they leave the doors open (she thinks that he knows Hope isn’t there for sex, but for an escape) and Josie gets used to Hope’s presence.

She gets to have Hope around in the mornings, when Hope invites Josie out for runs and then inevitably ends up half-carrying Josie back to the house, because Josie can’t run more than a mile.

In the afternoons, Hope drops by after school and they do their homework together or, more frequently, make out in Josie’s bedroom.

In the nights, Josie calls Hope and they talk for hours about the little things. Occasionally, she’ll be invited to dinner somewhere by Hayley and they’ll spend the night going back and forth embarrassing Hope.

(“Do you think you’re spending too much time with Hope?” Alaric asks, on one of the rare days Hope isn't around. “Aren’t you sick of her?”

Josie doesn’t say anything rude in response, but she death-glares him for the rest of the day.)

Alaric can, for lack of a better phrase, fuck off.

Josie knows that she has started to spend more time with Hope than usual, but she’s happy and so is Hope. She doesn’t want anything to get in the way of that, even though she is certain that the bliss can’t last forever. Josie knows, better than most people, that happiness is temporary, but she wishes that this could be permanent.

It doesn’t last.

Life doesn’t get terrible, but after Hope spends four consecutive days at Josie’s house, Josie realizes that something is probably wrong and decides to ask about it.

Hope’s parents are getting a divorce.

(“They don’t love each other.” Hope explains, one afternoon as they sit in the kitchen and go over their history homework. Josie is done studying, her eyes half-shut and her legs splayed out in Hope’s lap when Hope says it. “I don’t know if they ever really did. My mom was… reckless as a kid. She never figured out what she wanted to do with her life and my dad makes pretty decent money, so I guess they just…”

Hope struggles to find the words and Josie sits up, opens her eyes fully, and rubs Hope’s back encouragingly.

“I was an accident. Kind of. They weren’t married when they had me and I guess my grandparents were like _‘oh the shame’_ , so my dad proposed and… here we are. Though, if you asked, they’d probably say they didn’t do anything until their wedding night.”

Talking about Klaus and Hayley having sex is clearly disgusting Hope, which is fair, because they are her parents, but she continues on anyways.

“My point is, sex before marriage is a sin, too, but they lied about that, and, _and_ —“ Hope trips over her words. “—and _he’s_ a sinner. And a _hypocrite_. And I hate him.”

She doesn’t mean it, but she says it.)

Hope says a lot of things that she doesn’t mean after that. Not bad things. Just… random and a little crazy.

(“We should run away.”

Josie doesn’t notice the first time Hope says it, because they’re in bed and she is distracted. Hope has the most ridiculously muscled back Josie has ever seen and had the pleasure of touching, and she is too busy tracing over the curves of it to realize what Hope actually said.

“Hmm?”

“We should run away.” Hope repeats. “Together.”

Hope shifts so she can look Josie in the eye, and Josie meets her halfway, still smiling and relaxed because she assumes this is just pillow talk.

“Where to? Paris?”

“Maybe.”

“Italy?”

“I was thinking of New Orleans.” Hope responds, before Josie can get in another guess. “I know you like it there and I do, too. And we’re going to Aunt Freya’s wedding there. We could just go there and stay.”

“Okay.” Josie says, easily.

Hope seems surprised and that’s the first sign that she might not be kidding. “Okay?”

_Hope doesn’t actually want to run away,_ Josie thinks to herself, _that’s crazy._ She decides it’s a joke, though she isn’t so sure, and presses a chaste kiss to Hope’s bare shoulder.

“Okay.”)

They don’t run away.

They don’t go anywhere but to school, Breadstix, and their respective houses. It’s probably for the best that they don’t actually go through with everything that they talk about in bed. So, Josie goes to class, sings in Glee Club, eats lunch with Maya and Penelope on Thursdays, kisses Hope hard whenever no one is watching, and does all of the normal, teenager things that she should.

And life is fine. It’s good. It’s—

“ _Horrible_.” Josie groans, uselessly checking her text messages again.

“You’re being dramatic.” Lizzie rolls her eyes. “And that’s coming from me. Stop pouting.”

“I’m _not_ pouting.” Josie says, pouting.

Hope is late. She was supposed to come to the house an hour ago for hot chocolate and maybe some cuddling, but now her cup of chocolate is cold and Josie isn’t in a very cuddly mood.

Lizzie is making some sort of gross-looking ham and cheese sandwich with way too much Mayo.

“Did you text her?” Lizzie asks.

“Yes.”

“Call?”

“Yes.”

“Did you—“

“Yes, I did all the things.” Josie grumbles. There are a thousand ways to communicate these days and Hope hasn’t contacted her with one. “Do you think she’s okay?”

“Probably. It’s Hope.” Lizzie insists, like Hope is untouchable. Josie could see why someone who doesn’t know Hope as well would assume that.

Again: what if Hope isn’t okay? What if someone or something hurt her?

Josie doesn’t triple-text because she doesn’t want to seem desperate, but she does retreat back to her room to mope and read a book. She does so until the sky darkens from bright blue to midnight black and it’s too dark to read anything. There’s still no sign of Hope. Josie sets her book in her lap and stares off into the distance. One could describe what she’s doing as brooding, but brooding makes her think of Hope.

Hope.

Is that… _Hope_ on her front lawn?

“Hope?” She says, although she doesn’t expect Hope to hear her. Hope’s head snaps up to her window regardless, probably because Josie is the only one in the house with her light on.

Josie squints, tilting forward, thinking maybe she made a mistake. Maybe it’s not Hope out there. Surely, Hope wouldn’t come all this way in the middle of the night just to—

Hope waves.

What the hell?

Hope’s waving is actually gesturing. She beckons Josie down with her hands, swinging them wildly to indicate that Josie should come outside. Josie checks the time on her phone. It’s nearly midnight.

Again.

What the hell?

Josie throws on a coat and tiptoes downstairs in a rush. She whips open the door and closes it very, very softly, so as not to make a sound. The wind nips at her, cold enough that she starts to shiver immediately.

“Hope?” Josie says, as she approaches. Hope is shivering, too, although it looks like she has been outside for far longer than Josie - her skin is pale, cheeks flushed pink. “Are you okay? What are you doing here?”

Josie barely gives Hope time to answer, instead checking her for any visible signs of injury. She finds none, but her hands linger anyways.

Hope’s eyes are wild when she says, “Let’s run away together. Right now.”


	49. Chapter 49

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait

Hope’s eyes are alight with a fire Josie doesn’t know how to quell. 

  
  


Josie tries. She tries to soothe Hope with careful hands and gentle words, stroking along the line of Hope’s jaw with her fingers while speaking in a soft tone. “Are you sure about this, babe? It’s not that I don’t want to go, but maybe we should go inside first and—“

  
  


“No! No, I mean…” Hope mutters, quieting down after her slight outburst. “I don’t want to wake up your family.”

  
  


It’s weird that Josie didn’t think of that herself.

  
  


The world around them is dead silent, everyone else rightfully asleep in their beds while the pair stands outside in the darkness. Josie can’t see more than two feet behind or to the left or right of Hope, and she has the strange feeling that if she were to turn around right now, her house would have disappeared altogether. She almost forgot that a whole universe exists outside of Hope.

  
  


Almost.

  
  


It’s why she can’t run away. If Josie had no family or friends and no responsibilities, she probably would’ve left already, because why not? She’d go anywhere with Hope, but it’s not like she can just abandon her life before she even graduates high school. 

  
  


“Hope, I can’t run away. And you can’t, either. We have school and Glee Club.” She grasps Hope’s hands in her own. “And what about Lizzie? And your mom and your…”

  
  


“He doesn’t want to see me.” Hope says, bitterly.

  
  


Josie is already shivering from the cold, but what truly freezes her insides is the look Hope has on her face. “Is that why you want to run away?”

  
  


“A little, but it’s not just that. This town is… it’s too small. It’s suffocating. And with everything that’s going on with my family, I feel like I can’t even breathe here.” Hope tells her, voice quick and raw like an open wound that is still bleeding. “Besides, I don’t want to leave forever. I just want to go to the wedding a week earlier than planned, then come home.”

  
  


Oh. Well, that’s a significantly less crazy plan than what Josie was initially picturing.

  
  


(Honestly, she was sort of building this image in her head of them spending the rest of their lives jumping from motel to motel, living off of vending machine snacks and sink water until they would inevitably run out of money. It doesn’t sound all bad, because at least Josie would be keeping good company, but it’s definitely not a pleasant idea.)

  
  


But still. 

  
  


Josie sighs. “We don’t even have any mon—“

  
  


Hope chooses that moment to pull a large stack of money out of her pocket. It strains against her fingers, almost too big to fit in Hope’s hand.

  
  


“How did you…?”

  
  


“Savings.” Hope says, vaguely. Josie raises her eyebrows. “Don’t worry about it, it’s not like I robbed a bank before I came over here. I’m not an idiot. I have a plan.”

  
  


Josie shifts on her feet, unsure.

  
  


On one hand, she knows that running away is a bad idea, but on the other hand, there’s a small part of her that actually wants to. She wants an escape from everything that has happened over the course of the last couple days. She wants to avoid her dad’s disappointment in her and all of the sad, longing looks that Landon keeps giving her. She wants to forget the fact that a bunch of adults pretty much agreed that she’s a slut over dinner. She wants to be able to go through the day without worrying about Hope’s wellbeing. 

  
  


Plus, during their short trip there, Josie fell in love with New Orleans. It’s a beautiful city, but it’s a lot more than that. It’s a mark of freedom. She can’t help but think of Hope’s face that time they went dancing - it was flushed and happy and so, so alive.

  
  


It’s not forever. It’s just an extra week.

  
  


Hope is saying something. “I don’t want to force you into anything, but I’m going. I just thought I should at least say goodbye before I—“

  
  


“What’s your plan?” Josie interrupts. 

  
  


Hope grins. “I got train tickets. It’s a bit of a long trip. It leaves at midnight.”

  
  


“Hope.” Josie scolds, slapping her arm. “That’s in like, less than an hour.”

  
  


“I said I have a plan. I didn’t say it was a good one.” 

  
  


Josie huffs, nibbling her bottom lip in thought as Hope continues to stand in front of her. She has to say, this is not how she ever thought her life would turn out. Running away with Hope in the middle of the night? Utterly insane.

  
  


“Give me a minute.” Josie steps away from Hope and towards her house. “I’ve got to get my stuff. Stay here and don’t do anything stupid.”

  
  


“Wait.” Hope whisper-yells. “Does this mean that you’re coming?”

  
  


“Yes.”

  
  


“Josie?”

  
  


“Wha—“ Josie gets cut off by Hope yanking her into a kiss that they really do not have time for.

  
  


Hope’s lips are bitterly cold against her own, but the inside of her mouth is pleasantly warm. Josie returns the kiss for a moment, until she thinks of the train’s departure time and pulls herself away. 

  
  


“Five minutes.” Josie promises. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

  
  


“Okay.”

  
  


Josie dashes into her house and gently shuts the door behind her, so as to not make a sound. She leans against the wood once it’s closed, lingering there for a second while she catches her breath. It almost feels as if she actually fell asleep while waiting for Hope and is now just living through a dream. She stands there for an extra second to see if she’ll wake up, but when nothing shifts in her reality she starts to tip-toe up the stairs.

  
  


Upstairs, Josie grabs a duffel bag and stuffs it full of clothes and underwear. She makes sure to get her phone and a heavy jacket for the cold. It’s too late to spend a ton of time packing, so Josie only gathers the essentials before heading back down to the kitchen. There, she grabs a pen and tears a piece of paper out of a notebook.

  
  


What the hell is she supposed to say?

  
  


Bye?

  
  


No. She needs to write out a proper explanation.

  
  


_Dear Dad and Lizzie,_

_I’ll probably be in New Orleans by the time you’re reading this. Don’t worry about me, I’m safe and with Hope (and the rest of her aunts and uncles, who are responsible adults). I’ll be back after the wedding. You can ground me forever once I’m back, but I need to do this now. See you soon._

_Love, Josie_

  
  


Once Josie is done scribbling her name, she puts the letter on the counter and walks back outside to meet Hope.

  
  


Hope is the same as she was when Josie left her: shivering so hard that it almost looks as if she’s vibrating. Josie quickly unfolds the jacket she brought with her and drapes it over Hope’s shoulders in one smooth motion, pulling Hope closer while she’s at it. 

  
  


“Thanks.” Hope slides her arms into the sleeves. “I was really cold.”

  
  


Josie smiles fondly. “Did your plan not include jackets?” 

  
  


“I was in a rush.” Hope mumbles, frowning. Just a little, enough for her lower lip to become more pronounced. It takes a ridiculous amount of effort to keep from kissing her. They don’t have time for that.

  
  


Since Hope didn’t bring her car with her, they’ve got to walk to the train station. Josie didn’t even know that there was a train station until now. She thought that the town was too small for that, but apparently not. Halfway through their walk, Josie starts to shiver herself and Hope wraps an arm around her waist to press their bodies together for warmth. 

  
  


“You okay?” Hope asks, concerned. “If you want, you can have your jacket back.”

  
  


Their noses brush, the tips of them like ice, and every breath that they share forms a puff of mist in the air, but Josie’s insides are as hot as molten lava. They’re standing so close that it makes her blush and kind of gets rid of the cold problem.

  
  


“No, thanks. Then you’d be cold.” She responds, touched by Hope’s never-ending sweetness.

  
  


Hope huffs quietly, seeming a little disgruntled by the situation, but keeps the jacket on. They start to move faster after that, doubling their speed so they reach the train station within a few minutes.

  
  


Thankfully, the train hasn’t left yet. 

  
  


There are barely any other people at the station besides them and the reluctant employees. Hope fishes the tickets out of her pocket to hand them over to a sleepy man at the entrance, who yawns as he accepts them. His dark, scruffy beard sort of reminds Josie of her father. She ignores the tiny pang of guilt that hits her. It’ll all be fine.

  
  


“There’s a couple empty compartments in there, girls.” He points down to the left of the train.

  
  


“Thank you.” Hope says, politely.

  
  


The aisle is empty, but narrow enough that Josie and Hope jostle each other as they search for an empty compartment. Josie bites the inside of her cheek to contain her smile when Hope takes her hand unexpectedly, interlocking their fingers. It’s not too hard to find an unoccupied space. Josie follows Hope into the compartment and slides the door closed once they are both inside. 

  
  


The irony of them being on a train together at midnight isn’t lost on her.

  
  


Josie can’t help herself. “You know, we’re taking the midnight train, goin’ anywhere.”

  
  


Hope stares blankly at her for a long while before bursting into laughter, shoulders shaking with the force of it. It’s really not that funny, but Josie can’t stop the giggle that rises from her lips. It must be the combination of their adrenaline from running away mixed with the sheer ridiculousness of the joke that makes it seem hilarious. Her stomach starts to ache, cheeks warming as the laughter rolls through the both of them. 

  
  


Josie loves this. Loves how Hope spending time always makes her feel brighter, the sun shining down on her even in the night. Hope seems so happy in this golden moment.

  
  


_Tell me what this is,_ Josie thinks to herself, _tell me how to get you like this forever._

  
  


Without warning, Hope crashes into her, pressing Josie against the door and molding their mouths together. Josie tries not to make a sound, but it’s a losing battle. As Hope’s hands slip down to pin her hips to the wood, Josie whimpers quietly.

  
  


Her duffel bag is digging into her back, but Josie can’t find it in herself to complain. All she can do is kiss back with the same heated desperation, parting her lips to deepen the kiss. She spreads her fingers along the baby hairs on the nape of Hope’s neck, anchoring her closer. God, she’s not sure if she’ll ever get enough of Hope.

  
  


Hope leans away to catch her breath, but Josie, impatient, tilts forward to close the inch of space between them. Hope dodges her mouth, instead aiming lower to place a kiss right above Josie’s pulse.

  
  


Josie chokes out a moan as Hope sucks the skin into her mouth, nipping at a sensitive spot that never fails to make Josie’s knees turn to jelly. It should be embarrassing how easily she melts into Hope, completely at her mercy. 

  
  


“You always feel so good.” Hope places a trail of hot kisses along the column on Josie’s throat.

  
  


“Yeah?” Josie tugs at Hope’s fingers until she is able to pry them off and lift them higher, beneath her shirt. 

  
  


Hope’s swallows, eyes darkening. “Can I…?”

  
  


Josie nods embarrassingly fast and Hope doesn’t hesitate to pull the top off. As soon as she tosses it aside, Hope’s lips return to the side of Josie’s neck while her palms seek out the bare skin now exposed to her. Josie releases an encouraging moan at the contact, silently pleading with Hope to put her hands higher (or lower, for that matter).

  
  


She can practically feel a smirk growing against her throat and then Hope’s teeth are making an appearance, rougher than before, as her hands swipe up to palm Josie’s breasts through the bra. Josie whines, hips canting up in search of friction, but Hope just forces them back down. She is pretty sure that Hope is trying to torture her. 

  
  


The train suddenly jolts and accidentally sends them both stumbling, nearly knocking into each other. 

  
  


Hope bumps into a wall and swears. “Fuck, ow.”

  
  


The rough tone of Hope’s voice (still a little husky from making out) is a huge turn on, but hitting her head against the wall is definitely not. She huffs, both in pain and frustration. The mood is totally ruined. 

  
  


“Ow.” Josie mumbles, rubbing the growing sore spot on her head. She pouts. “That hurt.”

  
  


“Come here, babe.” Hope beckons her over. She comes to stand in front of Hope and grins as she watches her girlfriend get onto her tippy toes to deliver a quick forehead kiss. “Better?”

  
  


“Much better.” Josie confirms, unable to stop her mouth from rounding up into a smile. “You’re so cute. Like a puppy.”

  
  


Hope rolls her eyes. “We were just making out.”

  
  


“Maybe not like a puppy, then, but still adorable. I’m never going to get over how secretly sweet you are to me. You’re such a softie.”

  
  


“Yeah, yeah.” Hope grumbles. She grabs Josie’s shirt off the floor and hands it to her. 

  
  


Josie doesn’t miss the way Hope’s eyes glance downwards to trace her nearly-naked torso for a second. She smirks to herself while she pulls her shirt over her head, adjusting the fabric until it falls into place. Josie nudges Hope over to the empty seats and sits down beside her. 

  
  


“I’m so tired.” She yawns. All of the kissing had distracted her, but now Josie realizes just how sleepy she really is. 

  
  


They move themselves in a way that allows them to both lay down together, side by side. Well. Not really, because Josie ends up more or less on top of Hope. She splays herself out like a blanket over Hope’s tiny body.

  
  


“Sleep, Jo.” Hope instructs, stroking her hand up and down Josie’s back.

  
  


With the spot she is in, Josie can hear the sound of Hope’s heartbeat thudding beneath her skin. It soothes her to listen to. 

  
  


She begins to relax, sinking against Hope’s body for warmth.

  
  


“Do you think your family will like me?” Josie has never met the rest of Hope’s aunts and uncles, just Freya. What if they end up hating her? She really wants to leave a good impression.

  
  


“Of course they will. They’ll love you.” Hope tells her. “How could anyone not?”

  
  


Josie smiles, head buried in the crook of Hope’s neck. She mumbles quietly, “Softie.”

  
  


They both drift off into sleep soon enough. 

  
  


—————

  
  


Early the next morning, Josie is broken out of her peaceful slumber by a quiet ringing sound and a continuous vibrant from her duffel bag. She huffs at being woken up so soon (the train feels like it is still moving and the light outside is dim, telling her that the sun has barely risen), but sits up to grab her phone. 

  
  


Josie has to climb over Hope’s sleeping form to get to her bag. Hope is none the wiser, her eyes firmly shut as soft snores leave her mouth. She pauses to admire the sight for a second before slipping outside, into the aisle. 

  
  


She checks who’s calling. It’s her dad.

  
  


Crap.

  
  


She is so screwed.

  
  


Hesitatingly, Josie taps her thumb against the screen and answers the call. It’s silent on the other end for a second, and then...

  
  


“Josette Saltzman, what the absolute hell do you think that you’re doing? How dare you—“

  
  


Josie flinches and holds the phone far away from her ear in an attempt to soften the blow of Alaric yelling at her. It doesn’t work. She still feels a tiny pinch of guilt at just disappearing in the middle of the night like that. Plus, he is speaking so loudly that it almost shatters Josie’s eardrums, even as she keeps the phone at a distance. She waits for a while until she thinks that he might have cooled down. 

  
  


Unfortunately, Alaric is still yelling. “You better be turning around right now and coming home!”

  
  


“No.” Josie blurts without thinking.

  
  


“What did you just say?”

  
  


Oh, god. What _did_ she just say? She’s going to be in a world of trouble later.

  
  


“I said no.” She repeats. Although this might be a stupid decision, Josie is going to stick to it. She told Hope she would, and that’s that. Her voice comes out a lot more confidently than she feels. “I’m going to be back after the wedding, like I told you. It’s not like I actually ran away, I’m going to be surrounded by adults the whole time.” 

  
  


She can almost hear Alaric shaking his head. “I don’t know Hope’s family. Klaus is crazy, who’s to say the rest of them aren’t?”

  
  


“They’re not. I trust Hope.” That’s something she can say without a hint of uncertainty.

  
  


(She trusts Hope with her life. With everything. Not that her dad needs to know that.)

  
  


Another muffled voice joins Alaric on the other line, saying something that Josie can’t decipher. It sounds as if he’s talking to someone else. She tries to listen closely to the new voice and prays that he didn’t call the police or something. 

  
  


The other voice gets louder and more familiar. 

  
  


“Give me the phone, Dad. I’ll talk some sense into her.” Oh, it’s just Lizzie. Thank god. 

  
  


More shuffling noises float in through the phone, a few more words exchanged between her twin and father, before it’s only Lizzie on the line.

  
  


“Josie, what you’re doing is crazy. You have to come home and…” There’s a thudding sound, like a door shutting, and Lizzie’s voice loses it’s preachy, Caroline-like tone. “Sorry, Dad wanted me to try and talk you out of it. For the record, I do think you’re crazy, but also romantic. You two should go to Las Vegas next and get hitched.”

  
  


Josie smiles, laughing a little. “We’re not going to go get married. It’s just like a road trip.”

  
  


“Yeah, a romantic getaway road trip where you sneak off in the night and tell no one. I hope that you know you’re living in your own personal rom-com.” 

  
  


“It’s not like that.” She insists, blushing. Josie is glad that Lizzie isn’t here to see it. “How’s dad? Is he okay?”

  
  


“Nope. He’s livid.”

  
  


“Shit.”

  
  


“What did you expect, Jo?”

  
  


“I was kind of hoping he wouldn’t care too much. Why does he only give a damn when I’ve done something bad?” Josie huffs out a frustrated sigh and leans against the wall. 

  
  


Sometimes, dealing with her dad is like dealing with another immature teenager. He’ll go days without noticing them - only stopping to talk to them once or twice a day during meals, and even then barely paying attention - and then suddenly turn into an attentive father, which usually means punishing them for their mistakes. It’s too hard to keep up with. 

  
  


Her eyes clench shut as she tries to fight off the building headache attacking her skull. She keeps them closed until she feels a hand land gently on her arm.

  
  


Josie cracks her eyes open and Hope is in front of her.

  
  


“Everything okay?” Hope’s face has that tender expression on it that she only wears early in the morning, before she remembers to put her mask on. She looks ten times younger. It’s endearing.

  
  


Josie smiles sweetly. “Yeah. It’s nothing, go back to sleep.”

  
  


“Is that Hope?” Lizzie questions (way too loudly, in Josie’s opinion. “Tell her I say hi! And that she should propo—“

  
  


Josie rapidly ends the call. 

  
  


Hope blinks once, twice, then frowns down at the phone like she might have misheard what Lizzie said. Josie decides to distract Hope with a quick good morning kiss. 

  
  


“Morning.” She nudges Hope out of the aisle and back into the compartment. “How was your sleep?”

  
  


“Good. You?”

  
  


“Perfect.” Josie wraps her arms around Hope’s waist and presses their bodies flush against each other. She smirks at the blush on her girlfriend’s cheeks. “You make an amazing pillow.”

  
  


Hope rolls her eyes. “I should really stop you from saying stuff like that. It’s… mushy. I’ll have you know, I have a very intimidating reputation.” 

  
  


Josie giggles. 

  
  


“I’m not kidding.” Hope says, with this annoyed look on her face that honestly makes Josie want to laugh more.

  
  


She manages to contain herself. 

  
  


Sure, Hope can be scary sometimes, but mostly she’s the girl who still blushes and gets flustered every time Josie so much as holds her hand. 

  
  


“I’m sorry, baby.” Josie shoves Hope’s shoulders with enough force that she lands lightly on the seat behind her. She takes the opportunity to climb into Hope’s lap. “Let me make it up to you.”

  
  


Hope’s eyes visibly widen. 

  
  


“Oh.” Her blush darkens as Josie settles on top of her. It’s a very pretty color. “Yeah, you… cool.”

  
  


Josie smirks, tilts closer, and drops a single kiss underneath Hope’s jaw. She feels Hope swallow. Her own neck is slightly sore from last night and, although she hasn’t gotten a chance to look in a mirror, she’s guessing that there are more than a couple hickies on her right now. Which is entirely unfair. She can’t be the only one meeting Hope’s family with marks all over her neck. 

  
  


It would look inappropriate. 

  
  


Determined and, honestly, still a little turned on from last night’s events, Josie only spends a couple minutes teasing Hope before sucking a sensitive patch of skin between her lips. Hope’s hips jump on, most likely accidentally, and Josie has to grind down to keep her in place.

  
  


“Fuck.” Hope swears softly. 

  
  


_Good,_ Josie thinks. She likes knowing that Hope is just as affected by all of this as her. She likes hearing her, too. Loves it, actually. The sounds that Hope makes are maddening. 

  
  


Hope’s phone starts ringing.

  
  


“Oh my god.” Josie huffs, absolutely done with the outside world. “I hate everyone but you.”

  
  


Hope chuckles. “It’s my mom.”

  
  


“Oh… well, I guess your mom is nice.” Josie mumbles, slightly embarrassed. Hayley had bought her dinner, after all.

  
  


“I’ve got to take this.” Hope says, gesturing for Josie to get up so that she can stand. Josie shifts off of Hope and lays across the seats, watching her leave. Hope looks over her shoulder, a hand on the doorknob. “I’ll be right back.”

  
  


“I’ll be here.” Josie stares at the ceiling. She hears the door sliding closed. 

  
  


Ugh.

  
  


All she wants to do is make out with her girlfriend in peace. 

  
  


Now what?

  
  


She waits a few minutes for Hope to return, but it takes too long, so she gets out her phone. Josie opens up her camera and snaps a picture of her neck. She frowns at the image, noticing that her skin is covered in dark marks. Damn it, Hope.

  
  


How is she supposed to meet Hope’s relatives like this?

  
  


They’re going to judge her or, worse, decide that she’s a slut like the rest of the adults did during Nationals. She can’t have that. She should have thought to bring something to cover up her neck with.

  
  


Josie rubs her throat, pouting. What if Hope’s family ends up hating her?

  
  


She is still lost in her anxious, negative thoughts when Hope comes back into the compartment.

  
  


“Sorry I took so long. Keelin called.” Hope tells her. “I think the train is stopping soon. Are you hungry? We could go get breakfast with my aunts, if you want.”

  
  


“Yeah, sure. That sounds nice.” Josie is sure that her slightly high-pitched voice will give her away.

  
  


Surprise: it does. 

  
  


Hope raises her eyebrows. “Are you okay? You seem sort of… panicked. Are you nervous?”

  
  


“Only a little.” Josie admits to the floor, trying not to make a big deal about it. Hope sits down next to her. “I just really want them to like me. What if they think I’m not good enough for you or they… Hope, stop laughing.”

  
  


“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Hope apologizes quickly.

  
  


Josie leans away from her. Well, this doesn’t make her feel any better. Her frown deepens.

  
  


“It’s just that, there’s no way that anyone would think you’re not good enough for me. You’re the best person I know. Besides, I already know that they like you.” Hope glances away, an obviously embarrassed expression growing on her face. “I might have, uh, told them a little bit about you… I kind of talk about you a lot, actually.”

  
  


Josie’s eyes widen. “You do? What do you say?”

  
  


“Oh, you know. Just normal girlfriend stuff.” She says. Her face is quickly turning bright red.

  
  


“ _Hope_.”

  
  


“Nothing bad, I promise. Just that you’re really pretty and kind and that you forgave me for being an ass for years. I also told them about you being a very good singer and Glee Club stuff…” Hope is mumbling at this point, playing with her hands like a nervous child. 

  
  


Josie stares, listening in surprise.

  
  


Hope continues to ramble adorably. “I probably should have asked you first, but they wanted to know. I promise I didn’t say anything personal. I just wanted my family to know my girlfriend—“ 

  
  


Josie can’t resist launching herself into Hope’s arms and peppering her face with kisses. She basically tackles Hope like a football player, forcing them both tumbling backwards. Hope pauses for a second, clearly surprised, before reciprocating eagerly.

  
  


“You’re not mad?” Hope asks.

  
  


“Are you kidding me? No, I’m not mad.” Josie grins. She drops a kiss to the tip of Hope’s nose, giggling at Hope’s flustered reaction. “You’re the best girlfriend I could’ve ever asked for.” 

  
  


After that, Hope and Josie change clothes for the meal. Josie is glad to discover that, in her haste to pack earlier, she tossed a turtleneck into her bag and now has something to hide her neck. Hope forgot to bring a change of clothes, so she has to borrow a pair of Josie’s which means she ends up wearing an oversized pair of jeans and a t-shirt. 

  
  


(It’s not the best option, but it _is_ better than that cheerleading uniform Hope insists upon wearing daily.)

  
  


The train stops around the time that they’re done getting dressed. They gather up the last of their belongings before exiting the train and stepping outside. 

  
  


Freya and Keelin are waiting for them outside. It startles Josie to see them so suddenly, because she assumed that they would be meeting them at a restaurant. Apparently not. Both of them stand there, two striking women dressed similarly. She already knows what Freya looks like, so her eyes naturally fall on Keelin. Keelin is pretty (it seems all of Hope’s relatives are), with shoulder-length, curly black hair, and brown eyes that are mainly focused on Hope.

  
  


Hope smiles sheepishly at her aunts. “Hi.”

  
  


“ _Hi?_ Your mom has been calling me all morning.” Freya pulls Hope aside to talk to her privately, leaving Josie alone with Keelin. Great. 

  
  


Keelin offers her hand. “Hey, nice to meet you. I’m Keelin.”

  
  


“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Josie.” She tries to be as polite and kind as possible while they shake hands.

  
  


Keelin smiles in a friendly manner. “Don’t look so tense, Josie. You got Hope to finally talk to Freya again, so for what it’s worth, you’ve definitely got my vote.”

  
  


Josie grins.

  
  


Eventually, Hope and Freya return from their talk with equally understanding looks on their faces. Hope’s head is ducked about half an inch lower than usual, but she isn’t showing any real signs of being upset, so Josie isn’t too worried. Hope stands at her side and instantly reaches for her hand, linking them together without hesitation.

  
  


Freya and Keelin both look at Hope and Josie’s hands, then at each other, sharing subtle smiles.

  
  


“Good. Now we can eat.” Freya points all of her attention at Josie. It’s rather intimidating. “Josie, important question: have you or have you not had a beignet before?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll probably post the last chapter soon. It’ll be a lot longer than this one, since we’ll be seeing both the wedding and prom


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the end folks. Thank you so much for all of the love I’ve got on this fic. All of your comments and kudos over the last couple months have really made me happy. I never expected that it would get this much attention, 3k+ kudos is insane to me. Anyways, enjoy reading :D

“This is my favorite spot in New Orleans.” Hope sounds a little wheezy, like all of her breath’s been punched out of her.

Hope makes a grand sweeping motion towards the view before collapsing onto the ground next to Josie. It’s almost dark out. The world around them is shifting to pink and blue, so that the city lights appear brighter than usual in the haze of the sunset. Josie’s lungs are still burning with the effort it took to climb up the hill, but the look on Hope’s face is worth it—blue eyes blown out by wide pupils, breaths coming quick and shallow, her flushed skin taking on the delicate color of a rose.

She’s beautiful.

“You know, you’re supposed to be watching the sunset.” Hope lifts herself up onto her elbows, wipes the sheen of sweat off her forehead, and throws Josie a sideways look. “Not checking me out.”

“I’m not checking you out.”

“Liar.”

Josie pokes Hope’s side weakly in retaliation, a quiet huff leaving her mouth, since she’s too tired to do or say much else. Hope is the athletic one in this relationship. Josie should have known that when Hope said that it would be a bit of a hike up here, she actually meant they would be spending the better half of an hour walking uphill.

She’s exhausted, yet she can’t complain. Being here is a lot like living in a dream or in some far away, alternate universe, where problems don’t exist past having to exercise with a stomach full of beignets.

“I think I want to move here after college.” Hope admits to the sky.

Her voice has a faint, dreamy quality to it like she is talking about winning the lottery or getting lost in the clouds, but Josie actually thinks moving is a pretty reasonable goal. Hell, they ran away in the middle of the night together. Nothing is impossible.

“You should.” Josie advises. She’s still privately annoyed with herself for being breathless while Hope seems to have caught her breath just fine.

Hope rolls over so that she’s half on top of Josie, big blue eyes meeting brown. “What about you?”

What does she want to do after high school?

Truthfully, she hadn’t really thought about it all that much. She assumed she would just follow Lizzie wherever she went, but things are different now.

There are these golden moments now where she stands on stage and every eye in the room glues to her. There are moments where she’ll sit in the choir room and have everyone immediately look to her for guidance, like she’s their leader. Being part of something special has made her special, but it’s more than that. It’s Hope. It’s the gooey, warm feeling that pools in her stomach and flows through her veins whenever Hope looks at her.

She can’t give up that feeling. She won’t. How was she able to get through life without it? She wants to feel this way past high school. Maybe for the rest of her life.

Maybe forever.

“I don’t know.” Josie murmurs, shrugging. Her heart is beating too fast. Whatever. It’s just the exercise. “I hadn’t really thought about it...”

Hope traces her finger along the curve of Josie’s jaw, drawing a line of heat between them, sparks rising where their skin meets. Josie realizes that this is what she has wanted all along. The two of them alone. Hope and Josie, living in their own little private bubble.

“It doesn’t matter, anyways. I’ll probably still be grounded by the time graduation comes around. I can’t go to college from my bedroom.” She jokes, laughing, although she isn’t sure how much of a joke it is.

It’s their fourth day here and her dad’s calls have been reduced to angry texts. According to Lizzie, his beard growth is alarming, which is never a good sign.

She’s so screwed.

It’s worth it, though. Josie leans up an inch and steals a quick, sweet kiss from Hope that tastes like powdered sugar and honey, and it is so, so worth it.

“I’ll still come see you.” Hope whispers into her mouth, the promise locking between their lips. “I’ll come visit every night and… and throw pebbles at your window to get your attention, like in those cheesy romance movies. It’ll all work out.”

Josie giggles. “Okay, Romeo.”

“Only if you’re Juliet.” She tries to say something else and gets cut off by Josie crashing their lips together, but Josie knows well enough that Hope was about to say something incredibly sappy. It’s a given, at this point.

Josie doesn’t want to talk right now. She lifts one hand to cup the back of Hope’s head, anchoring her close, while the other rests on Hope’s waist. She shows very little restraint, pulling Hope right on top of her and adjusting her legs so that Hope can rest between her thighs. The air around them is bitingly cold, but the heat radiating off of Hope keeps her warm. She can’t help but arch into her girlfriend greedily.

Hope lets out a soft sigh at the contact and Josie takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss, melting into Hope’s parted lips. She sneaks her fingers underneath Hope’s jacket and blindly undoes a button on her top, seeking out bare skin.

“Josie…” Hope whispers.

She tries to kiss her again, but Hope dodges her mouth. Josie takes the opportunity to press two gentle kisses against Hope’s throat, scratching her nails lightly over taut abs. She wishes that Hope wasn’t wearing so many layers of clothing.

“We’re in public.” Hope leans backwards, onto her knees, and smirks, batting away Josie’s grabby hands.

Well.

That’s fair.

They’re overlooking the city, after all, and they’re in the dirt. It’s less sexy the more Josie starts to think about it. Fantasy killed.

“No one can see. No one can hear, either.” Josie says, slowly, realizing something. She sits up and carefully pushes Hope off of her in the process. She looks out at a sky that has now turned a faint peach color. They have been out here for about a half hour or so, and no one has interrupted them.

No one at all.

“Hey.” She turns towards Hope, an idea popping into her head. “Have you ever played the penis game?”

Hope’s eyes practically pop out of her head. “Um, no. That sounds… gross.”

Josie laughs.

“It’s not anything dirty or whatever you’re thinking of.” She glances at Hope, unsure of whether or not Hope looks disappointed or relieved. “I used to play it with Lizzie in middle school. It’s simple. You go back and forth saying the word penis, and whoever says it the loudest wins. I’ll start.”

“Wait, Josie—“

“Penis!”

Hope looks utterly scandalized and Josie laughs so hard that her stomach aches, tears beginning to leak out of her eyes. Once she gets done, she wipes at the damp skin of face with her palm and blinks hard to clear her blurry vision.

She is surprised to find Hope already staring at her, like Josie just did something wonderful. “I love your laugh.”

Josie feels her face start to burn hot. She ignores it and distracts herself by watching the sun drop.

“Thank you.” Josie finally mumbles, once the red drains from her cheeks. It’s too easy for Hope to get to her sometimes. “Now, it’s your turn.”

Hope rolls her eyes. “I’m not doing that.”

“Buzzkill.”

Hesitantly, Hope very, very quietly mutters the word under her breath, like she expects someone to yell at her for it. Josie just giggles, pressing her palm to her lips to contain herself. Hope sighs deeply.

“You’re a child.” Hope comments, but doesn’t sound genuinely mad about it. Her smile gives her away.

“Whatever. You love me.” She nudges Hope with her arm teasingly, turns her head left and right to make sure they’re still alone, and then, “Penis!”

“Penis!”

“Penis!”

“Penis!”

It continues like this for a long while, until Josie cups her hands around her mouth and screams loudly enough for the birds on the trees to flee. They fly so far up into the air that one would think they’ve been personally offended.

Hope scrambles to clamp a hand over her mouth before she can finish, basically tackling Josie as she dissolves into laughter. Josie can’t help it. It normally wouldn’t be very funny, but something about the scandalized birds and the way Hope’s eyes widen every time she says it makes it too hard to compose herself.

She laughs for a solid minute, trembling against Hope’s palm, until eventually her chuckles fade away.

“Are you going to be quiet?” Hope tilts her head to the side questioningly. Josie takes a short second to admire the dark blush on Hope’s face and the strength she uses to keep her pinned down.

Josie squirms, not getting very far under Hope’s weight. She tries to say yes, but it comes out as a muffled, unrecognizable sound against Hope’s palm. She huffs quietly through her nose and nods her agreement.

Only then does Hope remove her hand.

“I win!” Josie announces gleefully. “What’s my prize?”

Hope raises her eyebrows. “I never promised a prize.”

“Well, I can think of a few things.” Josie smirks, lowers her voice, and makes sure to look up at Hope through long, dark eyelashes. She tracks her gaze over Hope’s throat and watches it bob in a swallow, blue eyes visibly darkening.

Hope wets her lips. “Oh.”

“Yeah. I saw that Freya and Keelin have Finding Nemo recorded on their TV, so maybe after we eat dinner we can watch it. Why? What were you thinking about?”

“Oh.” Hope says, again, in a different tone of voice this time. She stammers, tripping over her words. “Nothing. I… I mean, I was just…”

Josie’s body shakes in silent laughter.

Hope frowns. “You suck. You did that on purpose.”

“I know. I’m sorry, baby.” Josie lifts herself up onto her elbows in order to reach Hope’s face. She peppers kisses over Hope’s jaw until Hope loosens up against her, accepting the apology.

A faint beeping noise fills the air before they can continue. Damn it. Why are they always getting interrupted? Whatever. This isn’t the worst time that something stopped their kissing. The worst time was probably when Hayley walked in. At least this time they aren’t being interrupted by another person. Josie can feel Hope’s phone in her jacket pocket, vibrating between the two of them.

“Curfew?” Josie asks.

“Yep.” Hope turns off her alarm and then tucks her phone back into her pocket. “We’ve got to start walking back now if we don’t want to be late.”

Hope begins to get up, but Josie locks her legs around Hope’s waist to keep her from moving.

“Wait. Just let me hold you for a while.” She says, and Hope glances up worriedly at the darkening sky. “Not for too long, I promise. Just give me five more minutes with you.”

“Okay.” Hope agrees, settling on top of Josie.

They spend the next five minutes laying together, Hope draped all over Josie like a human blanket, until they have to head back. It’s a lot faster of a trip going down than it was going up. They make it to Freya and Keelin’s place right on time.

When they get there, the two women are already busy cooking dinner in the kitchen. The room is full of heat and the savory scent of stir fry. Her stomach grumbles immediately. She hasn’t eaten in a couple of hours.

“Good. You girls are home.” Keelin sets down a large spoon to greet them. “How was your walk?”

“Good.” Both girls reply in unison.

Josie peers around the kitchen. “Do you guys need any help with dinner?”

She wants to be polite. She figures it’s important to make a good impression on her girlfriend’s family.

“No, thanks for offering, but we’ve got it handled. Why don’t you both go wash up before dinner?” Freya eyes the dirt on their backs with a secret smile. It probably wasn’t the best idea to roll on the ground as much as they did. “I take it Hope brought you up to the viewpoint?”

Josie nods.

Freya’s smile grows subtly and she nods to the left, silently telling them to go get ready for dinner.

They listen to her and head towards the guest room. The room is still fairly neat from when they first arrived, the only sign that anyone has been sleeping in here being the bags on the floor.

Josie teasingly pokes Hope in the side. “You take all the girls up there?”

“There are no other girls.” Hope rolls her eyes. She pulls open a drawer, searching for pajamas. “I used to go up there with Aunt Freya a lot when I was little. That’s all. We used to cook together before going up there and then we would bring a blanket for a picnic. We’d talk for hours. Though, I was pretty young, so I’m not sure I had much to contribute to the conversation…”

She trails off, smiling distantly at the memory of it, and Josie’s chest grows so warm that it feels as if the sun is breaking to pieces inside of her body. Family clearly means a lot to Hope. The more time they spend here, the more Josie sees that. She’s so glad that they came. This was the right decision, even if she will end up getting in trouble for it. Hope positively glows here.

“Sorry, I’m rambling.” Hope bats her hand, as if brushing the thought away.

“No, you can ramble all you want.” Josie tells her. She wants Hope to keep talking. “I love hearing you talk about your family. I think it’s amazing.”

“Really?”

“Of course. You can tell me anything you want.” She says, eager to reassure Hope.

So, Hope does.

While they change, Hope tells her a million little details about her aunts and uncles. She rambles as freely as she wants to and Josie notes down every word that she hears in her brain, even if it’s something as small as Hope’s uncle, Elijah, always wearing a suit. She likes hearing Hope talk. More so, she likes hearing about such a big part of Hope’s life.

They only stop talking when Hope’s phone rings again, this time making a different sound.

It’s Penelope.

Hope answers it. The small screen fills with two faces. It’s Penelope _and_ Maya, apparently.

“Hi, guys.” Hope says. Josie squeezes in next to Hope to stay in frame and greets them, too.

“Hey. We heard you two got hitched. That’s what Lizzie told us, anyways.” Maya leans in, lowering her voice as if to tell them a secret. “I know why you wouldn’t invite Penelope to your wedding, but I’m the favorite. I thought I’d at least be your maid of honor or something… hey, do you both get maid of honors or does someone get a best man?”

Hitched?

Hope glances at Josie, eyes wide. Josie knows what she’s thinking and is already quietly plotting Lizzie’s demise.

They did _not_ get married.

“Probably two maid of honors, babe. That means we could both be in the ceremony.” Penelope is speaking to Maya. From the looks of it, she’s also in Maya’s lap.

“I assume Lizzie would be Josie’s maid of honor.”

“But I’m way more honorable than Lizzie—“

“Guys, we didn’t get married.” Josie interrupts, before they can go too far. She clears her throat and avoids Hope’s eyes. Her skin feels unusually warm. Since when is it so hot in here? “We just ran away together. It’s not like we’re in Vegas or anything.”

“Hmm. Less exciting than I thought, but still very romantic. I’ll give it a nine out of ten. Pen?” Maya turns to her girlfriend.

Penelope nods. “Nine out of ten. I’m giving Hope style points for whisking Josie away in the middle of the night. _Someone’s_ been reading romance novels. Tell me, Josie, did Hope arrive on a white horse? Were there red roses involved?”

“Fuck you.” Hope grumbles, mostly joking, but Josie can see that the tips of her ears have gone bright red. “Remind me why we’re friends?”

“Because you love us, and we tolerate you. Now, please confirm whether or not there was a horse. I think you’d be pretty dashing as a knight, Hope.” Penelope wiggles her eyebrows and Josie chokes out a laugh.

Hope glares at the screen, blushing up to the roots of her hair.

God. Hope is so fucking cute.

They explain the details of the night to Penelope and Maya, who nod or occasionally comment on something jokingly. The only parts that they leave out are the couple of minutes when they stopped to make out on the train and almost got injured falling over each other. Josie will be happy if no one else ever finds out about that.

“How are things over there?” Hope asks, voice deceptively casual, eyes trained on her lap. She picks at a patch of fabric on her pant leg.

Josie can tell what she’s thinking about so easily that it’s as if Hope’s thoughts are being projected in the air around them. It doesn’t take a genius to know that Hope is wondering about her dad, who hasn’t even tried to call her yet, and is also most likely thinking about her mom, who had sounded worried over the phone. Josie wouldn’t be too surprised if their peers are also on Hope’s mind.

Have they noticed that Hope and Josie are both mysteriously missing at the same time? Do they think it’s just a coincidence or have they guessed the truth?

How many people are whispering rumors about them right now? How many people haven’t given them a second thought at all?

Josie grabs Hope’s hand and squeezes it.

“Well, Glee Club is significantly less interesting without you there. I never realized how much you two contribute to the drama of the group.” Maya mutters that last sentence under her breath and her and Penelope share a glance. “Oh, and a lot of people seem to think that Hope is taking the week off to hone in on her cheerleading skills—“

“—as if I need practice with that—“

“And everyone is assuming that Josie is sick. You should’ve seen Landon’s face when he heard that you both were missing, though. I’m pretty sure he put the pieces together. It was priceless.”

Penelope nods in agreement. “I think he might’ve cried.”

Hope stifles a rude laugh, hand held against her mouth. Josie glares at her and nudges her in the ribs to get her to be quiet.

“And the cheerleaders?” Hope asks, clearing the chuckle from her throat.

“They’re fine. We’ve been making them run laps and do all of that other sadistic stuff you’re into.”

Hope rolls her eyes. “It’s not sadistic, it’s entirely necessary for—“

“Hope! Josie! Dinner is ready!”

Freya’s voice rings out from the other room, the smell of cooked vegetables wafting in as clearly as her words. Josie holds a hand over her empty stomach. Damn. She suddenly feels as if she could eat a whole feast.

—————

“Damn it.” Josie swears under her breath for the third time in a row this morning, glaring at her own reflection in the full-length mirror.

No matter how hard she tries, she can’t seem to get this single curl to frame her face just right. It sweeps down her forehead and teases at her eyes borderline mockingly. If she didn’t know any better, she would say that she was being personally attacked by a viscous strand of hair.

The wedding is set to begin in less than an hour, but with how things are going Josie isn’t entirely sure if she’ll make it that long. She might go sick with nerves and drop dead before the ceremony has a chance to start.

Now is definitely not the time to freak out.

She knows that she shouldn’t be feeling so much pressure. It’s not her day, it’s Freya and Keelin’s. Chances are, most of everyone’s attention will be on them today, but Hope’s whole family is coming and the idea of meeting them still fills Josie with anxiety. _Some_ attention will be on her, won’t it? They haven’t seen Hope for a long time and now Hope is showing up with a girlfriend. Surely, they would want to speak to Josie at some point.

Oh god.

What if they don’t like her? Josie swallows down a lump that tastes of pure dread and stings just as bitterly as venom. What if they _hate_ her?

Two arms slip up from behind her and wrap firmly around her waist. Josie jumps in surprise. She hadn’t even noticed Hope sneaking up on her.

“Sorry, love.” Hope chuckles lowly in her ear, not sounding very sorry at all. She drops a light kiss to the nape of Josie’s neck, directly above the thin chain of her talisman. “Did I scare you?”

“No.” She lies.

She feels an immediate rush of relief wash over her now that she’s in Hope’s presence. Slowly, Josie leans back against Hope’s body and wills herself to try and relax a little.

“You look beautiful.” Josie tells her, when she can grasp the ability to speak properly.

That’s not a lie.

Her dress falls elegantly down the slim length of her body, its fabric as deep red as the inside of a rose. Her lips are painted an identical color, bold and breathtaking, much like the girl herself. She has her hair down today, the strands loose and naturally wavy, teasing along the sharp line of a prominent collarbone. It’s rare for Hope to let her hair out of the standard tight ponytail she wears for cheerleading, so the sight is enough to steal Josie’s attention.

An itch prickles beneath Josie’s fingertips—the urge to run her hands through Hope’s hair quickly making itself known—but she resists, thinking better of it. She wouldn’t want to ruin it.

“You do, too.” Hope lays another kiss in the exact same spot. “Ready to go?”

No.

“Yes.”

Josie puts the final touches on her outfit—she still can’t manage to get the curl to sit right—and they leave together. It’s a short walk. Freya and Keelin are getting married in a fancy garden a little ways down the road. They get there within ten minutes with time to spare.

Everything is already set up. The grass has been trimmed so that it’s no higher than an inch or two, and there are no dry, brown patches for as far as the eye can see. The aisle is lined with an assortment of different flowers, brightly-colored petals leading all the way down to the end of it, where an equally beautiful arch is set for when the ceremony begins. Off to the side, stark white tables are bearing the weight of plates and plates of fancy finger food, which some first-arrivers are already beginning to pick at.

It’s gorgeous.

“Come on.” Hope loops her arm through Josie’s and gently tugs her towards the tables. “I want to introduce you.”

“Okay.” She hides the slight tremble in her voice.

She can do this.

Hope leads her to a group of surprisingly familiar faces. Josie recognizes them from photos—Kol, Davina, Rebekah, Marcel, and Elijah. If she got the names right. She hopes she got the names right.

Rebekah spots them first.

Or, to be more accurate, Rebekah spots Hope first.

“Hope.” Rebekah clutches Hope in a one-armed hug, her other hand preoccupied by a glass of champagne. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Hope says something in return, but the brunt of it gets muffled by Rebekah’s shoulder.

“No worries.” Kol smirks. “You haven’t grown an inch. It’s more like we saw you yesterday.”

For the next thirty seconds, Hope is passed around to each person. Each of them have something to say to her, so Josie is allowed to fade back into the shadows for a brief moment. She observes that they seem more laidback than Klaus. Their eyes are brighter, a little less critical, but they’re still rather intimidating. That may just be Josie’s nerves twisting her perspective. She focuses on the easy way that they take Hope in to help calm herself down.

“Who’s this?” Marcel prompts.

Oh. They mean her.

“This is my girlfriend, Josie.” Hope guides her forward, one hand carefully set on her waist.

“Josie.” Elijah repeats. He doesn’t seem phased in the slightest and neither do any of the others. She imagines that someone told them about her beforehand. Elijah is the first to step forward and offer his hand. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Elijah.”

She returns the handshake readily.

For the next minute or so, they repeat those same actions.

“Marcel.”

Handshake.

“Davina.”

Handshake.

“Rebekah.”

Handshake.

And so on, until quiet music starts to drift over to where they’re standing.

“I suppose the ceremony is starting.” Rebekah points out needlessly. She sets her glass down and grabs Marcel by the arm. “We should find our seats.”

Other people have arrived by now, but there are a line of designated chairs in the front for them. Josie sits beside Hope. They lay under the sun’s shine in peaceful silence for a second, enjoying the bright blue sky and the warm air. Josie feels Hope prodding at her wrist and intertwines their fingers.

“You did perfectly.” Hope whispers into her ear, and Josie’s answering smile makes the sun look dim.

As the music swells to a louder volume, Freya and Keelin begin to walk down the aisle one by one, appearing as graceful as angels in their white dresses. The ceremony continues without any trouble. It’s perfect. Around the time they reach their vows, several people have gotten misty eyed and a few are sniffing. Josie takes a glance at Hope. She tries to draw her gaze back to the ceremony several times, but finds that she can’t, and Hope inevitably catches her.

Hope and Josie lock eyes. Josie parts her lips to soundlessly mouth _I love you_ at Hope. She ducks her head and grins secretly when Hope instantly does the same.

Even as the ceremony comes to an end, Josie watches Hope through the corner of her eye, a realization dawning on her slowly.

“By the power vested in me…”

She’s still looking at Hope.

“I now pronounce you married…”

Still looking.

“You may both kiss the bride.”

She wants to marry Hope. That’s all she wants. It would be too early to say it out loud, but for now, in the privacy of her own mind, she admits it. She wants to marry Hope. Nothing else would make her happy.

How long does she have to wait to say it?

Months? Years? Until college?

Josie is drawn away from her thoughts by all of the festivities. People are up and moving again, grabbing their purses and stretching out their legs. She gets to her feet and massages a sore spot on her thigh through the fabric of her dress. She hadn’t realized how long they had all been sitting down, but it must’ve been a long while.

Hope pulls her along towards the dinner tables faster than she needs to, so they end up first in line for food.

“What?” Hope says, possibly mistaking Josie’s staring for judgement. “I’m hungry.”

Josie just smiles fondly.

Later, Josie is still wearing that same fond smile while she watches Hope wolf down a plate of food. She’s being relatively polite about it, usually stopping every couple of minutes to wipe at her mouth with a napkin, but it doesn’t take an idiot to see that she’s hungry. It should be completely unattractive and probably somewhat gross, but it isn’t. She actually finds it pretty cute.

Hope’s cheeks are so full and puffed up that she resembles a chipmunk. She’s adorable.

“Are you okay?” Hope questions, once she is done swallowing. “You’re staring at me, you know.”

“I know. I’ve just got a lot on my mind.” She shrugs and looks elsewhere.

She should really pull herself together.

Josie didn’t think that she was one of those girls that gets emotional at weddings and spends an entire twenty minutes daydreaming about her own ceremony, but well, here she is. She blames Hope.

Hope raises her eyebrows. “Care to share?”

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Okay.” Hope responds in a tone that says she doesn’t believe her, but makes no further comment. Her attention is stolen by her uncle Elijah joining them, sitting in the empty seat next to his niece. Hope greets him warmly. “Hey, you finally have an actual reason to dress up, now.”

“I’ve got to look good for the occasion. I’m giving a toast, after all.” Something about Elijah makes it hard to picture him in casual clothing. “Actually, that reminds me…”

He stands and delicately clinks his knife against his glass, calling everyone’s attention with little effort.

“I’d like to give a toast.”

Elijah’s toast is short, sweet, and very formal. He ends it with a witty remark that gets Kol to bark out laughter while Freya shakes her head at the ground, smirking ever so slightly, as if in fond exasperation. Almost as soon as Elijah is back in his seat, Hope is shooting up and out of hers.

Oh. Josie hadn’t known that Hope was planning on giving a toast, too.

Apparently, Hope didn’t know either. She seems noticeably unprepared, clearing her throat and wiping her palms on a tablecloth like she hadn’t thought this through for more than a second. All eyes fall upon Hope, most of them encouraging.

Hope promises to keep her toast short. Her eyes flicker to Josie’s and Josie smiles back, hoping to give her some confidence. Strangely enough, it only causes Hope’s cheeks to flush further.

Josie leans forward, interested in what Hope has to say.

“I know I haven’t been around a lot, and that’s my fault, but it honestly feels like I’ve never left. Love does that to people—it inspires them to be better. Happier. It’s obvious to everyone that you two are meant for each other. Freya, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you more happy than when you’re with Keelin.” Hope’s last sentence invokes some warm smiles in the room and Freya beams, a subtle rosy color blooming on her cheeks while she clutches her wife’s hand. Hope’s gaze shifts, almost imperceptibly, to fall over Josie. Nobody notices, but Josie does, as she feels the weight of Hope’s stare flood her body. “No matter what the future holds, I will always love you. Forever.”

Josie can’t look away.

“Congratulations.” Hope finishes, lifting her glass high into the air. Everyone surrounding her claps and cheers happily. Josie belatedly joins them, clapping her hands together with enthusiasm.

Her heart pounds, thick and heavy, in her chest, and she finds that her eyes are a little wet.

Hope sits back down.

“Hope…” Josie tries to say something, but she finds she can’t quite find the words. Before she can figure it out, she’s interrupted by someone.

Kol.

“I heard you two ran away.”

Hope and Josie share a glance.

“Oh, yeah...” Hope mutters finally, as if expecting to be scolded, but Kol doesn’t appear to be angry or saddened by the news. In fact, he has a distinct look of pride on his face, along with a smug grin.

Kol’s grin only grows at the confirmation. “You’ll have to tell me all about it.”

Hope looks hesitant.

“Actually,” she says, sparing a glance back at Josie. “I wanted to dance right now, but maybe later?”

“Of course. Go ahead.” Kol nods and strolls over to the other side of the garden, where his wife, Davina, is standing.

A small crowd is beginning to form, a few people finding their dance partners and swaying gently to the music. Josie watches them for a moment more before she notices Hope offering her hand to her.

“I can’t really slow dance.” Josie admits sheepishly. Well, she can. Just not well.

They didn’t cover slow dancing in Glee Club.

Hope tilts her head. “Please?”

How could she say no?

Once they find an empty spot on the dance floor, they come closer and begin to move together. At first, they aren’t really dancing—more swaying to the beat, than anything—but Hope let’s her go for a second, only to twirl Josie around and yank her right back in, all in one smooth motion.

“How’d you learn to dance like this?” Josie asks, her hands returning to Hope’s neck. This time, she can’t resist playing with the soft, baby hairs on Hope’s nape. It’s what she’s wanted to do all day.

“I practiced for prom.”

“Prom.” Josie’s eyebrows furrow. This is the first time she’s thought about it since they came here. Maybe because she isn’t truly looking forward to it. “You’ll be dancing with…”

“With Sebastian, yes, but not like _this_.” Hope purposefully slips her hand down lower, to the small of Josie’s back.

She pulls them flush against each other, the inch of space between them clearly a courtesy to the other people here and not to themselves. Josie can tell that Hope would much rather have her closer. Her eyes are dark, pupils blown wide, her heated gaze refusing to stray from Josie for even a second.

Josie’s breath catches. “Hope, about the last part of your toast—“

“It was for you.” Hope admits.

_I will always love you. Forever._

The words brand her thoughts as hotly as a kiss to her skin, lingering constantly. She tries to think of something to say, but she can’t. She can’t. If they continue on this topic any longer, she’ll say what’s been lingering on her tongue since the vows, and it’s too soon. Far too soon.

Josie chuckles and her voice is a little loose, a little watery, when she changes the subject. “You know this is our song now, right?”

Hope smiles.

“Technically, the first time we danced was in that club. So, I think our song had more of a bass to it.” Hope begins to imitate the booming beat from that night and Josie throws her head back, laughing freely.

—————

Going back home is the worst.

The first half of her day is so mind-numbing that she considers ditching. The only thing that keeps her inside the school until lunch is the knowledge that her dad would probably kill her for leaving again.

Josie prods lazily at a thin shred of lettuce on her plate with her fork, the senseless gossip floating through the cafeteria only helping to drain what’s left of her energy. She had barely slept at all last night and her dad made it clear that he’s still mad at her by shooting her angry looks over breakfast this morning. So far, school hasn’t been much better. The classes are a lot less interesting than she remembers, the teachers droning on about nothing special in a dead monotone.

It’s so boring.

New Orleans spoiled her and now she expects adventure and excitement.

One of the only good things about the day is that, from what she’s observed during the past couple hours, no one knows the truth about where they went. As far as she knows, the Glee kids haven’t said anything to anyone outside the club about what went down at Nationals. She imagines that if they had, she probably would have been met by a swarm of nosy students, eagerly poking into her business and asking her questions.

_Are you really in love with Hope Mikaelson?_

_Is it true you two are dating?_

_Did you run away to Las Vegas and get married?_

Thank god she doesn’t have to put up with any of that. She’s also happy for Hope’s sake—she isn’t sure how Hope would react to everyone knowing.

Where is Hope? She isn’t at lunch. The worst part of coming back to school is being separated from her after spending a week basically never leaving each other’s side. Josie knows that Hope usually gets out of cheerleading practice around this time, but it must be running late today.

“We missed you last week.” Rafael tells her, one of his hands reaching out to grab a napkin across from them. “It was pretty boring. Were you sick?”

Close to where the stack of napkins is, Landon is glaring down at his plate. He is barely eating his food, instead choosing to pick at his sandwich so infrequently that one would think it disgusts him. He disgusts her. She keeps catching him giving her these gloomy looks, like she killed his puppy or something.

He should really stop doing that.

It’s not her fault she doesn’t love him. She didn’t ask for him to kiss or for him to wreck the entire competition. Every time she considers forgiving him, the memories of Nationals spring into her head like a bad dream and she just finds herself hating him more.

How did she have a crush on this boy, not so long ago? How did she ever want anyone but Hope?

“Yeah. I had a bit of a cold.” Josie draws her eyes away from the cafeteria doors, where she’d been looking for the last few minutes, in hopes that her girlfriend would suddenly appear. It’s impolite not to make eye contact while speaking, so she tries to focus on Rafael, but her thoughts still stray.

Where is Hope?

“Really?” Rafael pauses to rub at the back of his neck, choosing his next words carefully. “Cause, we noticed that Hope was gone, too. And since you guys are, uh… well, some of us thought you might have left together.”

Some of the other people at the table, all from the Glee Club, glance over too subtly for it to be casual. Even Landon lifts his head, dead-puppy eyes boring into the side of her face.

Great.

“Raf, that’s silly. What do you think we did? Run away in the middle of the night? New York City was cold. I just forgot to wear a jacket one too many times.” Josie shrugs and pushes that tiny piece of lettuce she’s been playing with into her mouth. “I spent the week sucking cough drops. It wasn’t nearly as exciting as you’re thinking.”

“Oh.” Rafael mutters, genuinely sounding a little disappointed.

Seriously? Josie knows that nothing happens in this town, but this seems ridiculous. Any shred of possible gossip, no matter how small, makes people lose their minds.

Speaking of people losing their minds...

Hope bursts through the cafeteria doors with her fan club on her heels, some of the cheerleaders walking so close to Hope that it almost appears as if they are attempting to wear her skin. Hope must be talking to five different people at once, with the way her head is swiveling around. Can they really not survive a week without her?

Josie watches Hope for another moment, taking in Hope’s still damp hair and flushed skin with quiet appreciation. Hope hasn’t noticed her yet, too busy dealing with the horde of girls to look up.

Do they really have to stand so close to her? Is that really necessary? She doesn’t think it is.

She notices how jealous her thoughts sound and loathes it—hates how she is never able to keep her thoughts in check when it comes to Hope. She’s pretty sure she hasn’t contributed a single word to the conversation since Hope walked into the room.

Hope stops on her way to another table, her feet abruptly falling still. She murmurs something to one of the girls and begins to walk in another direction.

Josie’s direction.

“Can I borrow a napkin?” Hope stops to stand in front of them. “My table is all out.”

It’s nothing more than a napkin, but the way that Hope looks at her—and _only_ her—makes Josie’s stomach jolt.

“Sure.” Josie replies, in the same casual tone.

She grabs a couple off the top of the stack and hands them to Hope, fingers brushing during the short exchange. Hope never stops looking at her. Josie is only able to catch her breath once Hope is safely on the other side of the cafeteria again. It should be completely humiliating how affected she is by something so insignificant—they’ve kissed a hundred times, for god’s sake, this should mean nothing—but something about Hope finding little ways to touch her throughout the day leaves her dizzy and warm.

Hours later, when school is over and Josie is at her house, Hope shows up to toss pebbles at her window (as promised). She helps haul Hope into her bedroom and quickly shuts the window.

“What are you doing here? I’m grounded.”

Hope eyes her lips hungrily. “You say that as if I could help myself.”

“Shh. My dad is downstairs.” Josie whispers and effectively silences Hope by sealing their mouths together, whatever words they might’ve said to each other meeting a swift and sweet death.

—————

Prom night is not what she expected.

Well. Some of it is. Josie isn’t surprised by Lizzie forcing them to get ready hours in advance or by her dad being utterly clueless about makeup and dresses. In fact, she expected most of that. What her younger self never expected is that the night would kick off with three cheerleaders waiting on her porch, one of whom is carrying (struggling to carry, actually, since Yoda is quite fussy) a cat.

Josie answers the door in a robe, her hair and makeup already done. Hope is too preoccupied to notice.

Hope wrestles with the animal, looking as if she’s half trying to set him down and half trying to get him away from the dress she has slung over her shoulder, until he finally leaps away from her and scrambles past Josie’s feet to get into the house.

“Hi.” Hope says, breathing hard. “I know we said we’d come later, but Yoda’s been really fussy all morning. I thought it’d be a good idea to take him to you.”

“Good idea.” Josie echoes and reaches out to pluck a stray cat hair off Hope’s cheek.

“Well, you’re his favorite.” She smiles brightly.

Even while covered in cat hair, Hope is cute. There are no limits, apparently.

Penelope pulls a face. “We’ve been here for two seconds and you’re already cat-flirting.”

Maya elbows her in the side. Penelope rubs her side, looking mildly betrayed, and Josie laughs. They brought their stuff with them—mascara, eyelash curlers, lipstick, dresses, shoes, the whole nine yards—in bags, which Penelope is carrying the majority of.

“You guys can come in.” Josie steps aside to let them in and the three girls follow her through the door, then up the stairs to her bedroom.

The room is a mess. Clothes are scattered along the entire floor, piles of makeup and shoes laying on the bed. It almost appears as if a tornado ran through the room. Lizzie is staring so intensely at two lipsticks that she doesn’t immediately notice them come in.

“I’d go with the cherry rose.” Maya advises.

Lizzie pulls her attention away from the lipstick shades. “You think so?”

“Definitely.”

Yoda walks past them, his fluffy tail tickling Josie’s ankles in passing, and curls up on a pile of her socks. Josie doesn’t mind. He’s adorable.

“I thought you guys were coming later.” Lizzie sits up, perching on the edge of the bed.

“Hope insisted we come early.” Penelope crosses the room and peers into Lizzie’s makeup bag curiously. Lizzie swats her away. “Ow. Violent.”

The following hour is no less chaotic. Her room is relatively small, so the amount of times that they accidentally bump into each other is endless. It’s a struggle to catch her breath with the chemical scent of multiple products lingering in the air, and the deodorant and hairspray definitely doesn’t help. Still, Josie wouldn’t give it up for the world. She’s never had so many people in her bedroom before—never had so many friends before—and it’s fun to surround herself with people who care about her.

They get a chance to unwind, loosening up enough to cross the room barely dressed while calling out jokes to each other and occasionally pausing to chat about the upcoming events of the night.

The fun is cut short by a knock on the door.

“Girls?” Alaric pops his head in through the open door, his hand over his eyes. “Are you done yet?”

“We’re all dressed, dad.”

Alaric drops his hand. “Oh. _Oh_. Josie, honey, you look beautiful.”

“What am I?” Lizzie mutters. “Chopped liver?”

Josie would normally be slightly embarrassed by her dad being so sappy in front of all of them, but this is the first time he’s said anything non-angry towards her in a while. She plays it up. She knows she has a baby face and her dad has a tendency to forgive her easier the more that she pouts. She blinks innocently at him and beside her Lizzie scoffs, rolling her eyes.

What?

She’s been grounded for forever. She’s lucky that he’s letting her go to prom. Honestly, if he doesn’t lift the ban soon she is going to start losing her mind. She’s getting desperate.

“Wait. I want pictures.” Alaric tells them. “Let me get my camera. Come downstairs.”

Downstairs, Alaric takes multiple pictures of them. First he gets a group shot of all of them standing together, then one of just the twins, and finally he ushers Hope and Josie together for one near the stairs. The others move out of the way and Josie moves to stand behind Hope.

She knows that Hope is meeting Sebastian at the prom later, and it’s with that thought in mind that Josie wraps her arms protectively around Hope’s waist, molding her front to Hope’s back. From this position, she can just barely feel Hope’s heartbeat fluttering widely in her chest.

“Are you nervous?” Josie whispers in her ear. She doubts that Hope would want anyone else to know if she is.

“A little.” Hope admits quietly.

“Don’t be. You’re Hope Mikaelson.” She teases. “You’re going to win.”

Josie is certain of that.

Even if they weren’t dating, Josie would probably end up voting for Hope anyways. It would be a crime not to. Tonight, Hope’s beauty is ethereal, her hair put up in an elegant updo, her makeup done in mostly gold so it appears as if her face is framed by sunlight, and her dress is just the same. She looks like royalty.

Like a queen.

“Okay, say cheese.” Alaric instructs, snapping another picture.

Neither of them say cheese, but they do smile. In the second photo, Josie tickles Hope’s side to get her to laugh and they dissolve into snickers and giggles together. Alaric gets a picture of that, too.

Josie will have to get that picture from him later. She’ll have to frame it.

Lizzie drifts over to the window and immediately squeals. “Oh! MG is here!”

Sure enough, MG comes to knock on the door a minute later. Lizzie is already there to tackle him in a hug. While they start talking, MG repeatedly complimenting Lizzie, Josie watches them fondly.

Alaric forces them to take pictures, too.

MG is pretty eager about the whole thing. He has such a wide grin on his face the entire time that it almost seems as if his lips might split open. This is clearly something he has wanted since forever. The grin is still lingering on his mouth when he finally comes over to greet the rest of the girls.

“Hi, ladies.” MG waves at them, then turns his head. “Josie, you ready to go?”

Right.

Josie almost forgot that she is driving there with her sister and MG instead of Hope, Penelope, and Maya. It puts a slight damper on her mood.

“Yeah.” She smiles thinly.

The two cars are waiting outside for them. They begin to split up on the lawn, walking in opposite directions.

“Jo, wait!”

Josie stops at the sound of Hope’s voice, right before she has the chance to get into the vehicle. She releases her hold on the car door as Hope approaches her. Hope launches into her arms as soon as she reaches her, hugging her close.

Hope leans up on her tippy toes, whispering into Josie’s ear. “I’m going to be thinking of you the whole time.”

And then she’s gone.

Josie watches her go, her heart humming a tune inside of her that only she can hear.

“God.” Lizzie rolls her eyes. “This isn’t a romance movie. Stop staring wistfully after her and get in. Next thing you know, you’re going to be writing poetry about how Hope’s eyes sparkle with the light of a thousand suns. Then you’re a goner, sis.”

Hope’s eyes _do_ sparkle.

And Josie is definitely a goner. That train passed a long time ago, but she doesn’t tell Lizzie that. Instead, she saves herself the embarrassment and slips into the car silently.

It takes them less than a half hour to get there.

People are already flooding into the gymnasium when they arrive. Josie spots Hope’s car parked in the lot, but there’s no sign of the girl. She must be inside already.

The gym has been completely transformed. The sports equipment is gone, balls and weights put away, replaced by snack tables and speakers. In the middle of the room, a large crowd of people are all dancing and swaying to the hip-hop song playing. Pink and purple streamers have been strung high across the ceiling, and beneath them a small group of people are getting punch. Josie recognizes Sebastian, Penelope, Maya, and sure enough—

Hope.

Josie can’t resist tracing her eyes over Hope’s form. Once. Twice. Three times. Even though they saw each other less than an hour ago, she feels dizzy with the urge to go over and be near her again.

Lizzie taps her arm and Josie jumps, startled.

“We’re going to go check out the snacks.” Lizzie tells her. Josie would follow, but she guesses that MG wants to get Lizzie alone for a few minutes, so she stays put.

Luckily, someone else takes their place.

“Hey, pretty in pink.” Kaleb greets, referring to her dress. He has a girl on his arm that Josie barely recognizes. Cleo, maybe?

“Hi.” She offers her hand to the new girl. “I’m Josie, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Cleo. Nice to meet you, too.”

(Good. She got it right.)

“Have you two voted yet?” Josie does a sweep of the gym again, eyes landing on the voting booths. She doesn’t want to miss her chance to vote for Hope.

“Yep.” Kaleb answers. “The booths are right over there. I assume I know who you’re voting for.”

Josie turns a faint shade of pink.

Kaleb simply grins at her and pats her lightly on the shoulder in passing as he drags his date to the dance floor. Cleo seems to be completely clueless about what Kaleb is insinuating. Good.

Since everyone else is preoccupied, she decides it’s the perfect time to go vote.

In the privacy of the voting booth, Josie scribbles down Hope’s name and draws a heart beside the last letter. She seals it with a kiss for good luck, folds it in half, and slips it through the slot before stepping back outside.

MG appears at her side in an instant.

“Jo! Come dance with us.” He pulls her towards a small group in the middle of the dance floor. Most of the Glee kids are there. Most. Hope is still at the other side of the room, speaking closely with Penelope and Maya.

For the next hour or so, Josie distracts herself by dancing around with her friends. She’s a pretty good dancer when the music is fast and she has no problem getting lost in it, twirling in circles with Lizzie and Cleo. MG and Kaleb are much better than everyone else, breaking out some moves that have the crowd cheering. Once a slow song comes on, Josie chooses to let the couples have their moment and finds a wall to lean against.

Halfway through the song, her phone buzzes twice.

The first text is from her dad, asking why there’s a cat in the house, and the other is from Hope, who wants her to come join her in the—

“ _Bathroom_?” Josie shouldn’t be surprised at this point. “Seriously?”

There’s no one else in the bathroom right now, probably because normal people like to dance with their dates and not spend their time around toilets during prom. She can’t be too mad about it, though. She was beginning to think that she wouldn’t speak to Hope until the after party.

Hope rolls her eyes. “Yes, seriously. I wanted to see you.”

“In a bathroom?”

“Yes.” Another eye roll. Hope pulls her closer by her hips and Josie goes willingly. “I think I forgot to tell you how ravishing you look in this dress. It’s poor manners on my part.”

“Very poor manners.” Josie teases, lowering her chin so she can meet Hope’s eyes. She notices the heated gaze Hope is giving her and silently wonders if Hope has been just as starved for contact as her. 

The moment becomes more charged than it should be, only a breath of space between them.

Yet, when Hope tilts in to kiss her, Josie dodges her mouth, not allowing their lips to meet. “We have to go back out or we’ll miss it.”

“Just one kiss…” Hope assures, leaning into her. Josie can grant her that.

One turns to two. Two turns to five. Five turns to Hope locking them in one of the stalls, pinning Josie up against the door with bruising kisses that threaten to ruin both of their lipsticks. Neither care. Five kisses turns to some endless number, an infinity of warm mouths and insistent lips, until they both have to pull away for air.

“I voted for you.” Josie whispers into the space between them, still breathing heavily.

“Ooo, is that your idea of dirty talk?” Hope wears that same cocky smirk that always lights Josie’s insides on fire. “Cause I like it.”

Hope dips down to press an open-mouthed kiss to Josie’s throat and Josie laughs, squirming away before Hope can get too far. She doesn’t want them to accidentally get carried away.

“No, no.” She interrupts. “I just mean that I really want to see you win tonight. I don’t want to miss it.”

Hope’s expression softens.

“Really?” She questions, almost sounding shy. “I thought you wouldn’t be very into it, because of Sebastian and all.”

Josie catches Hope’s hands with her own and brings them up to her mouth. She presses her lips to the heart of Hope’s palm, the same way that she did to the ballot slip, her eyes never leaving Hope’s for a second.

“I’m rooting for you, Hope.”

Hope kisses her again, this time softer, _deeper_ , with a certain finality to it. It’s their last kiss before they exit the bathroom.

As soon as they get back, the music in the room dies out and is replaced by the scratchy sound of someone clearing their throat into a microphone. The energy in the gym shifts slowly. People stop dancing to point their eyes towards the stage as the excited chatter turns to hushed murmurs. It’s time.

“Can the prom king and queen nominees please come on stage?” The teacher’s voice rings clear throughout the gym. “I repeat. Can the prom king and queen nominees please come on stage?”

Josie stands there.

Oh.

Right. They mean her, too. She almost forgot.

Slightly embarrassed, Josie rushes up on stage and joins the line of queen nominees. She didn’t realize until now just how many people there are in this school. Of course, she could’ve guessed a number, but it’s different having hundreds of eyes focused on her. She can feel heat rising beneath her skin the longer she stands here.

Is this how Hope feels? Always having so much attention from the school?

“Okay, I don’t want to hold anyone up too long. I know you guys want to get on with your night. I’ll start with the boys.” The teacher unfolds a paper in his hands, pausing for suspense. “This year’s prom king is… Sebastian Hayes!”

People start clapping and cheering loudly while Sebastian gets his crown, ducking his head so they can put it on him.

Once the noise dies down, the teacher starts to speak again. “Alright, alright. Congratulations, Mr. Hayes. Why don’t we all find out who your queen is? Okay, this year’s prom queen is… _Hope Mikaelson!”_

The roar of applause is louder this time, people’s cheering consuming the room in one booming wave of sound. Josie claps her hands together so hard that her palms ache.

They set the crown on Hope’s head and Hope positively _beams_.

“And now, you can dance with your dates.” The teacher informs them. Everyone else parts to form an empty circle in the middle of the room, leaving a wide space for Sebastian and Hope to dance. The nominees who weren’t chosen walk off stage and fade back into the crowd.

Sebastian offers his arm to Hope and she allows him to walk her down the steps, but she stops there. In front of _Josie_. A very dramatic gasp runs through the crowd. Hope lets go of Sebastian, turning to hold her hand out to Josie.

“Dance with me.”

“But… but you won.” Josie stammers. She’s far too shocked to speak properly. It’s hard to form a single word. Everyone is _looking_.

Hope tugs Josie closer, slipping her arms around Josie’s waist. “Yeah, I did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I imagine Hope and Josie date throughout college and get married. There will probably be some one shots of this in the future

**Author's Note:**

> The line in there that’s like ‘Hope Mikaelson is as Josie has always known her. Gorgeous. Immaculate. Fucking ruthless.’ is inspired by a line in Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. 
> 
> Let me know what u think! :D


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